


Hitched

by Rhyfeddol



Series: Crushed [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2018-08-08 00:38:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 42,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7736284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhyfeddol/pseuds/Rhyfeddol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been four years since Cinder's plan was foiled, and she's all but forgotten by Yang and her team. But when she escapes from prison, will she succeed in exacting revenge on Yang? When old faces return bringing new information about the villain, Team RWBY will certainly have their work cut out for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings

**Cinder**

Four years. Four fucking years. That's how long I've been stuck in this hellhole, unable to summon so much as a toothpick. Not that I'd need one, considering how little they feed me in here. I would have thought Emerald and Mercury would have gotten me out by now, but _no_ , they've left me to rot. If I ever get out of here, I'll have my revenge on Yellow. I will kill everyone she's ever cared about, slowly, right in front of her. I will destroy her precious school, then I will flay her alive.

As these thoughts go through my mind, the slat at the bottom of the door opens and my usual tray of bread and water is pushed through. This time, though, there's also a note. _Get back._ I press myself against the wall furthest from the door as it gets blown off its hinges, revealing my cohorts and the four students they hired all those years ago.

"We won't have much time," Emerald tells me as alarms sound. The glyph that has been inhibiting my abilities for so long suddenly vanishes and I feel the lethargy leaving me. I exit my cell and see several armed guards at the end of the hallway.

"Stop!" one of them yells. "Get back in your cell! We're authorised to kill!" Mercury gets ready to attack them, but I hold an arm out and stop him.

"And I don't require authorisation to kill," I tell the guards as I summon a fireball. I throw it at one of them, and the heat causes his armour to melt and his skin to blister. As he screams in agony, I summon two daggers and throw them at two other guards, piercing their jugular veins. They clutch their necks as they fall, dead before they hit the floor.

"P-p-please…don't kill me," the last guard begs. "I'll do anything!"

"War is not without casualties," I tell him, walking towards him. "And a war is coming." As I reach him, I grab his head and twist, snapping his neck. I step over his lifeless body, followed by my compatriots. We're met with more resistance as we exit the prison, but the guards are no match for us. By the time we're outside, not a soul is left alive in the building.

"What now?" the leader of Team CRDL asks.

"I take revenge on the yellow bitch. Then we finish what we started," I reply.

"You want revenge?" Mercury asks. "I happen to know something _very_ interesting concerning the yellow one." As he shares his knowledge, my eyes widen.

**Yang**

Today's the day. Today, Blake and I are getting married. Since the attack four years ago, she and I have been practically inseparable. Along with Ruby and Weiss, we graduated from Beacon with high honours and it wasn't long before we were being offered some of the most prestigious missions in the kingdom. It was with my payment for one of those missions that I bought the ring I proposed to Blake with. I remember the event clearly.

_We're sitting in Blake's favourite seafood restaurant, and I'm very aware of the small box on the inside of my jacket. She has no idea why I took her out to dinner tonight. A bottle of champagne sits on the table between us, almost empty. Truthfully, I drank most of it to calm my nerves. The beautiful Faunus opposite me seems to be enjoying herself; she's been smiling jovially all night._

_"Anything else, ladies?" the waiter asks as he removes our cleared plates._

_"Baked Alaska," I request. He nods and leaves. When he return with our dessert a few minutes later, neither Blake nor I have said anything but we're holding hands across the table. The waiter frowns as he sets the dish between us but says nothing._

_"Enjoy," he tells us as he leaves again. Blake and I finish the Baked Alaska fairly quickly and share a short kiss, oblivious to the stares from the other patrons of the restaurant. I pay the bill soon after and exit the establishment with Blake, holding her hand the whole way. A short walk later, we're in a park which is empty aside from us. I put my hand on the back of Blake's head and kiss her softly. Due to the solitude, this kiss lasts much longer. After four years, I know every contour of the girl's lips, but I still love every second I spend kissing them._

_She presses her lips to mine slightly harder and gently nibbles on my lower lip before we separate. Trying to slow my now racing heartbeat, I reach inside my jacket and pull out the box as I drop to one knee. I hold it out as Blake gasps._

_"Blake Belladonna, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I want to be with you as long as I live. Will you marry me?" I ask, opening the box. Her eyes fall upon the twenty-four karat diamond ring presented to her and her hands shoot to her mouth. A solitary tear falls from her eye as she answers, "of course I will." I push the ring onto her finger before standing up and kissing her again, much more passionately this time. She responds in kind, slipping her tongue into my mouth and fighting for dominance. I let her win, immensely happy that she accepted._

"Yang? We have to go," Ruby's voice draws me out of the flashback. After some persuasion, she agreed to wear a dress and be my maid of honour. The sight of her reminds me of that night at the dance, oh so long ago, when she couldn't walk in high heels. The memory makes me smile as I follow her to the limo that will take us to the venue. When I enter, Coco and Nora are waiting, a bottle of champagne already open.

"I need that," I tell them, taking the bottle and drinking straight from it. They don't protest.

"Nervous?" Coco asks.

"Fuck yes," I reply. "Give me a Deathstalker any day; it's nothing compared to a wedding."

"You'll be fine," Nora tells me. "If anyone tries anything, I'll break their legs for you!"

"You won't need to do that, Nora," Ruby chimes in. "Yang, we just need to make one more stop."

"Why?" I ask, confused. "I only have two bridesmaids. Who else are we picking up?"

"You'll see," she answers. A few minutes later, the limo is idling outside Jaune Arc's apartment building. I'm about to ask what's going on when the Boy Wonder himself exits the building in a white dress. Luckily for him, there's no one around to gawk as he enters the limo.

"Hi," he says. "Pyrrha, Ruby and Nora convinced me to be your surprise third bridesmaid." Coco and I crack up as the limo starts moving. To Jaune's credit, he rocks his outfit shamelessly. There isn't even the slightest hint of a blush on his face throughout the journey.

"You look good," Coco tells him when she can speak. She then immediately starts laughing again. It's not long before we arrive at the venue. Blake insisted on a low-key affair with only close friends and family. On the other hand, the reception has been planned entirely by yours truly. It's gonna be the party to end all parties, the kind where you wake up the next day and don't even know what happened. The champagne bottle is empty as we exit the limo and I'm feeling slightly giddy from the alcohol.

A short time later, I'm walking down the aisle, Taiyang by my side. Blake's standing at the altar, smiling wider than I've ever seen her smile. I see that she chose Velvet and Pyrrha to be her bridesmaids, while Weiss is her maid of honour. Blake really is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and I've looked in a mirror every day of my life. It's hard to believe that starting today, I'll be spending the rest of my life with this girl. She's gorgeous, witty and a _total fucking badass_. Despite my nerves, I've never been happier. I really can't imagine a better way to spend my time. Well, maybe one, but I'll probably get round to that later. You know what they say about the night of the wedding...

After an eternity, I reach the altar. My heart's apparently trying to break a speed record in my chest, based on how fast it's beating. Everyone sits as Blake and I prepare to make our vows. After taking a deep breath, I go first.

"Blake Belladonna, I vow to never leave your side. In times of war or peace, frustration or happiness, I'll be there for you all the way. No matter what life throws at us, I promise that we'll overcome it all together. You've shown me what true love really is, and for that I will always be grateful. I love you, Blake, I always have, and I vow that I always will." When I finish speaking, I hear a sniffle behind me. I don't turn to look, but I figure Ruby's probably crying.

"Yang Xiao Long, you were my beacon in a storm. My life was perpetual darkness, every second consumed by hate for society. Until I met you. You changed all that. You're like my own personal sun, eternally warming my soul, and I love you for that. I swear to never leave you, come hell or high water. You are everything to me, and I will always love you."

"Do you, Yang Xiao Long, take Blake Belladonna to be your lawful wedded wife?" the priest asks me.

"I do," I reply, sounding much more confident than I feel. I'm amazed that I could even form the words.

"And do you, Blake Belladonna, take Yang Xiao Long to be your lawful wedded wife?"

"I do," Blake replies, smiling wider than ever.

"Then I now pronounce you married. You may kiss the bride." As soon as he's done, Blake throws her arms round my neck and kisses me with raw emotion. Nora squeals behind me as everyone else in attendance stands and applauds. After the noise dies down and. Blake and I are no longer attached at the lips, Weiss steps forward.

"Congratu-" she starts to say, but gets cut off by a sudden explosion. My first thought is that Nora planned another surprise for me that went wrong, but then I hear a familiar voice that makes my blood boil.

"I hope we're not late to the ceremony," Cinder announces, stepping through the hole in the wall. I notice that she's followed by Team CRDL and her two partners in crime.

"Get. The fuck. Out of here," I tell her slowly, fighting to keep my voice level.

"What do you plan to do? You can't fight in that," her grey-haired partner tells me, gesturing at my dress.

"Yang! I'll break their legs!" Nora yells. Before she does anything, however, there's a small flash and a new figure is suddenly standing between Cinder and I. It's a woman with long black hair almost as long as mine. She's wearing a black dress with a red girdle-belt and what appear to be red gauntlets on her forearms. A furry bit that looks like a wolf's tail comes out of the side of the skirt of her dress. There's a sheath on her waist that looks like it also contains different types of Dust for whatever weapon's inside. I soon find out that said weapon is a katana, because the woman unsheathes it and faces Cinder, not saying a word. Cinder gets a fearful look and flees the scene, closely followed by her companions.

"Who-?" I start to ask, but the woman walks off, probably to verify that Cinder is actually gone. She returns a couple of minutes later, and I see that she's wearing a Grimm mask like the White Fang used to wear, only much more intricate, and resembling a Nevermore. "Who are you?" I ask again. The woman takes off her mask, revealing a face strikingly similar to my own. The major difference, aside from her hair and the fact that she's clearly older than me, is that her eyes are crimson, the colour mine go when I'm angry.

"Yang. You've grown so much. I have a lot of explaining to do," she answers, smiling.


	2. A Story With a Happy Ending

**Yang**

Somewhere behind me, Taiyang gasps.

"Raven?" he asks incredulously.

"Taiyang. It's been too long," the woman, whose name I figure is Raven, replies. "How've you been?"

"Fine, I suppose. Where have you been?"

"I'll explain everything, but not here. Let's get somewhere more private," Raven says.

"Will someone please tell me what the _fuck_ is going on?" I exclaim forcefully.

"Yang. My name's Raven Branwen. I'm your mother," Raven tells me. I take a moment to register that. Then I take another moment to register it some more. When my brain finally processes what this woman just said to me, she and Taiyang have walked away and Blake is gently tugging on my arm. The limo that was supposed to take Blake and I to the reception is waiting outside, so the four of us enter and I tell the driver to take us to the apartment Blake and I share. During the ride, there's a very tense silence as I stare at Raven, not sure how to feel about her sudden appearance. The silence continues until we arrive at the building, where we take the elevator to the penthouse suite. It didn't exactly come cheap, but Blake and I accumulated the funds required over several months of high-paying jobs and moved in a few weeks before we got engaged.

The apartment has three bedrooms, with an en suite in the master. That room is dominated by a king-size bed whose sheets need changed far more often than Blake and I care to admit. The master bathroom has a marble countertop below a large mirror, as well as a shower large enough for two. The two guest bedrooms are sparsely decorated, each containing an identical twin bed, closet, dressing table and lamp. The living room and kitchen are joined, with one wall made of glass. It offers a spectacular view of Vale, with Beacon visible in the distance. Sometimes we spot giant Nevermores flying over the Emerald Forest. There's a large TV in the living room, strategically placed so as to be visible from either of the two leather couches or the breakfast bar. The kitchen contains regular kitchen stuff, with more marble countertops, plenty of storage space, a microwave, a fridge and an oven with a stovetop. There's also a second bathroom for guests to use, which has basic bathroom commodities. All in all, it's a pretty luxurious place to live, and I'm glad I get to share it with Blake.

When the four of us enter, I suggest Blake and I change out of our dresses, which Taiyang and Raven agree to. We enter our bedroom while my parents make themselves comfortable in the living room.

"You okay?" Blake asks me as her dress falls to the floor. I get distracted from answering when I notice she forewent wearing a bra today. "Eyes up," she tells me when she sees me staring.

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you're okay. You seem really tense," she says.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just don't know how I feel about her showing up like that," I reply, stepping out of my own dress. "I mean, it's great that I've found her and all, but at the same time, where the hell did she go and why did she suddenly appear now?"

"It'll all make sense soon," Blake tells me before kissing me softly. I nod and finish changing while she does the same. We exit our bedroom and sit down with my parents, at which point I gesture at Raven to start explaining things.

"First off, congratulations on the wedding. I'm happy for you both," she says. "Now, you probably have some questions for me, especially you, Yang."

"You're damn right I do. Where have you been my whole life? Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?"

"I'm sorry, Yang. I had to leave you and your father. It was to protect you both." I frown when I hear this, so Raven continues, "Years ago, I discovered a conspiracy to undo everything humanity has built over the centuries. I tried to gather all the information I could, but before long, the people behind it were onto me. Because of this, I left the two of you, severing all connections with you and leaving no trace of my whereabouts. I didn't want them coming after you to get to me. Since then, I've been hiding and finding out what I could, hoping I'd be able to stop them before their plan goes into effect. I failed."

"What do you mean?" Blake asks.

"What happened four years ago?"

"Cinder. She attacked Vale, had a huge army of Grimm and the White Fang with her," I reply slowly.

"Yes. That was only phase one, and Cinder, despite what the authorities think they know about her, is only a pawn in a much greater scheme. If successful, the attack would have wiped the kingdom off the map and false evidence would have been given to the remaining kingdoms, implying that one of the others was responsible for the attack on the only non-militant kingdom in Remnant. That would have caused international tensions, which would have been increased by attacks on trade vessels and convoys and such, eventually causing a war. The ensuing negative emotions would have allowed the Grimm to multiply at an unprecedented rate, and they would have been able to devour every human and Faunus on the planet." She pauses for a few seconds.

"Luckily, you were able to stop Cinder and prevent all that from happening. I never truly believed it was over, which is why I didn't come out of hiding, but I was immensely proud when I heard about the role you played, Yang. Unfortunately, as you know, Cinder is now free, and very bitter. She failed in her task and was left broken, only to spend four years in prison. All her efforts will now be focused on taking revenge on you, after which she will attempt to continue the plan her superiors devised long ago."

"If you know all this, why didn't you go to the authorities?" I ask.

"I don't have solid proof. Besides, why would they believe the word of a woman who is supposed to be dead?"

"Fair point," I reply. "But I still don't get it? Why couldn't you give me some indication that you were alive? That you knew I was well?"

"I told you. I didn't want to be affiliated with either of you in case our enemies used you as leverage. Especially when I heard about Taiyang's second child..." At this point, she sounds upset, and Taiyang hangs his head shamefully.

"I thought I'd lost you. I moved on, I remarried, I'm sorry..." he trails off.

"I understand," Raven tells him, patting his back. "In a strange way, I'm almost glad you did. I couldn't bear the thought of the two of you waiting twenty years for me to come back." I figure this isn't the best time to bring up the fact that Summer Rose is presumed dead.

"So, if I may, why come back now?" Blake asks.

"As you know, Cinder's free. I knew she'd go after Yang, so I had to warn her of the danger she's in. The wedding business was just a happy coincidence; I got to congratulate the two of you on the day. Besides, I had been planning to come out of hiding anyway, I just used this as a reason."

"Do you know what these people are going to do next?" Taiyang asks.

"Not for certain, but I fear they're thinking... _bigger_ for their new plan. I doubt they'll want to mess around with stolen military hardware and Grimm-controlling devices. There's another problem. While the leaders of the group don't exactly get out much, a lot of their operatives are rogue Huntsmen and Huntresses."

That is a problem. Rogue Huntsmen and Huntresses are people who completed their training at Beacon or any other combat school, obtained their license then turned their talents away from their duties. A lot of them end up as mercenaries, doing any job as long as the pay is right, be it bog standard Grimm removal or more sinister objectives, like assassinations or other major crimes. If there are a lot of them working to bring about the end of the world, then that is really bad news.

We all sit in silent contemplation of this new information, wondering what it could mean for our future. Suddenly, Raven stands up and heads for the front door.

"It was lovely seeing you all, and Blake, it was nice to meet you, but I have things to attend to. Besides, I've intruded on your wedding long enough," she tells us. "Yang, we can catch up more soon if you want to, okay?"

"Sure. How will I contact you?"

"Good point," she answers, taking out her scroll and exchanging numbers with me. "See you all soon," she calls as she leaves.

"I uh- I'm gonna get going as well..." Taiyang mutters. "Congratulations. Yang, I love you. Both of you, all the best." He says all that really fast as he heads to the door. When he's gone, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

"Well that was eventful," I say.

"Indeed it was," Blake replies. "Should we worry?"

"Not right now," I tell her. "We have better things to do."

"Like?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Weelll, we _could_ go to our reception..." I say slowly. "Or we could... _not_ do that."

"What else do you suggest we do then?"

"Each other?" I suggest with a wink.

"Sounds good," Blake replies seductively.

Blake climbs onto my lap and brings her lips to mine in an instant. I wrap my arms round her and pull her closer as I slip my tongue into her mouth, fighting for dominance of the kiss. The battle ends when Blake takes my bottom lip between her teeth and bites on it, not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough to make me yelp a little. She pulls back and gives me a look that says _you know you love it_ before kissing me again, even more aggressively. This time, rather than letting her win the kiss, I start scratching at the sensitive spot between her ears, causing her to purr. I take the opportunity to explore her mouth with my tongue, until she pulls back and grabs my hand.

She gets up and pulls me to our bedroom, where she pushes me onto our bed and straddles my hips. She then leans down and kisses me again while pinning my wrists above my head. She alternates between swirling her tongue around my own and nibbling my lower lip while I lie there, letting her have her way with me. She then buries her face in the crook of my neck, leaving delicate kisses in the area she knows I like. I soon feel the kisses turn to nips with her teeth, each one causing me to flinch in pleasure and pain. She switches to the other side of my neck and delivers the same treatment, before gently biting down and sucking on the flesh, which is sure to leave a mark.

After thirty seconds, Blake lets go of my wrists and pulls my shirt off, exposing my ample breasts. She stares at them hungrily while feeling them in her hands, kneading the flesh. She soon latches onto my rapidly hardening left nipple with her mouth while taking my equally hard right nipple between her thumb and finger and rolling it around. She swirls her tongue around my left nipple before sucking on it, causing me to moan. She then takes it between her teeth and pulls, pleasuring me further. Meanwhile, she's apparently bored of my other nipple and moves her hand lower, letting it hover at the waistband of my shorts.

Blake moves her mouth to my other nipple as her hand snakes its way into my shorts and under my panties. She bites down, harder than before, while teasing my clit with her finger. I moan in pleasure and frustration as she stops her treatment of my nipple and plants a trail of kisses down my torso. She stops when she reaches my shorts and unbuttons them, before taking the waistband of my panties between her teeth and pulling them off. She spreads my legs, surveying my now naked form, before moving down and taking my clit between her lips, sucking on it gently. I cry out at the sudden pleasure as Blake stops sucking the little nub and swirls her tongue around it instead. She then kisses it gently before moving down and licking the area around my very wet entrance. She stays there for a while, alternating between various patterns of movement, while I moan and cry out.

Soon, I feel two fingers slide inside me and start moving in and out, occasionally stroking my G-spot. At the same time, Blake moves back to my clit and starts gently sucking on it again.

"More... Oh _fuck_ don't stop," I gasp as Blake's fingers speed up. She starts sucking harder on my clit and curls her fingers to hit my G-spot with every movement. I feel myself approaching the edge, but the Faunus between my legs has other ideas. She slows down and stops sucking to look at me, smiling mischievously. I groan in frustration and push her head back down. She licks my clit and swirls her tongue around the sensitive nub while adding another finger. She increases the pace of all three fingers, curling them again as she starts sucking my clit. This time, she doesn't stop as I climax, and I drench her face with fluids while I close my eyes and scream in pleasure. I feel her lap up every drop of nectar she can find as she withdraws her fingers before lying next to me. Eyes still closed, I feel Blake's very slick digits trying to gain access to my mouth. I part my lips and taste myself on her fingers, cleaning them off.

"Good girl," Blake tells me. "Now you can repay the favour." She removes her clothes, presenting her body to me. I start with her breasts, sucking each nipple in turn. I then push her legs apart and prepare to eat her out, smelling her musk. I slowly run my tongue over her slit before parting her outer lips with two fingers. I go straight for her clit, sucking hard and gently nibbling on it. She immediately starts squirming, making it a bit hard for me to keep doing it. I then start tonguing her hole while rubbing her clit with my thumb. She moans as I circle her entrance, occasionally slipping my tongue inside. I start rubbing faster before taking the nub between my thumb and forefinger and rolling it between them. I continue licking the soaked entrance as I do this, and Blake's moans get louder and louder.

I soon pull my mouth away and put two fingers in her, pumping in and put rapidly while rubbing her clit with my other hand. I keep this up for about a minute, gradually speeding up as Blake starts screaming in pleasure. Soon enough, I feel her walls clench around my fingers as she climaxes, releasing fluid everywhere and soaking the sheets. I catch every drop I can of the delicious nectar in my mouth, swallowing it as Blake recovers.

"Wanna keep going?" I ask when she catches her breath.

"Fuck yes," she replies. We fuck like rabbits until around midnight, at which point we're both too exhausted to continue. We fall asleep in each other's arms, basking in that after-sex glow we've grown so used to.


	3. Taking Action

**Yang**

I wake up around one in the afternoon, crotch aching from multiple orgasms. Turns out wedding night sex really _is_ best sex. It's been a long time since I woke up sore. I notice Blake isn't in bed with me anymore, but I hear water running. I sit up and stretch, looking around the room at our discarded clothes while thinking about last night. Letting out a huge yawn, I walk to the bathroom to join my wife. She doesn't hear me as I open the door and get in the shower behind her, so she yelps in surprise when I kiss her neck.

"Afternoon, Yang," she tells me, turning around. "I'm still sore, so don't get any ideas."

"I am too. You ever think we have _too_ much sex?" I ask, smiling.

"When you're in love, is there such a thing?" Blake replies, pulling me in for a kiss. When she pulls back, she grabs the shampoo and bravely starts washing my hair. She's lucky I love her, because I don't let anyone else touch my mane. When she's done, she gets the soap and washes my body while I relax under the hot water.

"What do you wanna do today?" I ask as Blake shuts off the water and we step out of the shower.

"Don't know," she replies. "Should we see if we can find out what Cinder's up to?"

"Does sound like a good idea, but where would we start?"

"That's a very good question," she answers.

"And I take it you don't have any very good answers?"

"No, I do not. Maybe we should see if Ozpin or Qrow know anything," she suggests. At that moment, my scroll goes off in the bedroom. I pick it up and see my old Headmaster calling. It's not unusual for him to contact us, even after our graduation, but I'm still a bit surprised.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," I tell Blake. She cracks a smile as I answer the call.

"Good afternoon, Yang," Ozpin says from the little screen. He still looks much like the last time I saw him, somewhat shaggy silver hair, brown eyes behind his glasses and a mug of what is either hot chocolate or coffee. Or maybe tea, I've never been sure. "And congratulations on the wedding."

"Thank you, sir," I reply. "Do you need something?"

"Unfortunately, yes, there is a matter which demands your attention. You are undoubtedly aware that Cinder Fall is no longer a prisoner?"

"I'm aware, all right," I answer, trying not to think about the bitch's intrusion on the happiest day of my life.

"Well, we believe we may have tracked down some of her underlings here in the city. I'm asking you and Blake to find them and bring them in alive, assuming you don't have any more important things to attend to?"

"No, sir, that's fine. Send us the details and we'll start at once. Just the two of us?"

"Yes. It's unlikely that the rest of your team will be needed for this task. I'm sending you the location now." A few seconds later, my scroll beeps and some coordinates are displayed. "Good luck, you two," Ozpin says before hanging up.

"Bet I can prepare faster than you," I tell Blake, who heard the whole conversation.

"Honey, you're on," she replies confidently. I rush to the table on my side of the bed to grab Ember Celica while Blake gets her magnetic backplate and Gambol Shroud. I'm in the middle of loading shells into my gauntlets when I hear Blake's magazine click into place, and I look over to see that we both finished at basically the same time.

"Guess it's a draw. Good job, Blake." We leave our apartment and head downtown, towards the address Ozpin gave us. When we arrive, we see a six-storey building whose walls are made mostly of glass. Over the door is a sign proclaiming "Ember Security Co."

"So, what's the plan?" Blake asks.

"Ozpin didn't specify details, just that there would be bad guys and the targets need to be kept alive. So, we go in, beat up everyone who gets in our way and drag the fuckers to Beacon. Sound good?" I ask, not waiting for an answer as I open the door of the building. I find myself in a lobby, with white tile flooring and lots of plants. The air conditioning is keeping the room nice and cool, in stark contrast to the hot sun outside. To the left is a row of elevators and there are stairs to the right. Directly opposite the door is a reception desk, staffed by a woman in her mid-twenties. She has mousy-brown hair and wears a pretty normal receptionist outfit. She looks up when Blake and I enter, and speaks a single word into a microphone on her desk: "Huntresses."

Hearing that, I activate my gauntlets and rush forward while Blake draws Gambol Shroud and follows close behind. When I reach the desk, I raise my fist threateningly and demand, "how many people in this building work for Cinder?"

When the receptionist laughs instead of answering, I punch her desk, putting a hole in the wood. "Sweetie, didn't you see the name of the company?" she asks in a sickeningly sweet voice. " _Ember_ Security."

"Of course," Blake breathes. "A synonym for cinder. Everyone here works for her."

"Yes, dear. And we employ plenty of rogue Huntsmen. I hope you're not planning any trouble."

"Tell you what. You tell us where the head office is, we get what we want, we leave, no problem. Deal?" I ask.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline," the woman says with an exaggerated frown. "Sorry."

"You don't sound sorry."

"Well, honey, I don't get paid to be honest, do I?" she asks, cocking her head to the side and making a big deal out of shrugging.

"You know what, Blake? This is a waste of time. Let's just knock her out and go through every room until we find the targets," I suggest to Blake. She shrugs, so I grab the back of the receptionist's head and slam her face into her desk. She's out cold, so Blake and I head for the stairs and get ready for the arduous task of checking every room in the building.

The first floor contains nothing but offices, full of people who neither pose a threat to us nor aid us. We tell them to leave and stop working for a criminal then head to the next floor. There are a couple of offices here, but most of the floor space is dedicated to a shooting range. Unfortunately, all the guards who had been practicing are on alert thanks to the annoying receptionist downstairs, so Blake and I are met with a dozen pistols and rifles aimed directly at us.

I sigh and fire a long-range blast. While the guards are disorientated, I charge forward and punch one in the face. He drops his pistol, so I catch it and swing it round, hitting a second guard in the most painful spot with the butt of it. He doubles over and I kick him in the face, knocking him out. Suddenly, a guard has recovered enough to try to hit me with the butt of his rifle. I block the strike with my left forearm and punch him in the chest with my right fist, feeling a rib or two break under the impact. He goes flying and hits the wall before sliding down to the floor, where he remains. Suddenly, Blake's beside me, slapping guards with the flat part of her blades. It's not long before they're all defeated, and Blake and I still haven't broken a sweat.

"I got more than you," I tell Blake as we head up to the next floor.

"Please. If you got any less, you might as well have not been here," she replies, sticking her tongue out at me.

When we reach the next floor, we find four guys with electrified batons waiting for us. Based on their expressions, they think they'll be taking us down easily. I give them a cocky smile and gesture at them to come forward while Blake takes up a stance. The guards approach and the first one brings his baton down towards my head. I dodge to the side and try to punch his side, but he redirects my arm as his buddy jabs his baton into my stomach. My Aura absorbs most of the shock, but it's still very unpleasant. Meanwhile, Blake isn't having any more luck. She's too fast for the other guards to hit, but she's having difficulty landing any strikes of her own. I decide I don't have time for these guys, so I roundhouse kick one in the face, sending him back a few feet. The other guy swings his baton at me, so I block it with my gauntlet and bring my other fist into his chest, firing Ember Celica as I do so. I hear a crunch as his ribs break and he crumples. The guard I kicked is apparently ready for more, because he rushes towards me and tries to hit my shin with his weapon. I block it with the bottom of my foot, letting the rubber sole of my boot absorb the electric shock. I then kick his face again with that foot before shooting him with Ember Celica. The force of the blast embeds him in the wall and he looks to be down for the count. I look over at Blake, who's just finished off the guys she was fighting. With the threat eliminated, we look through the various rooms. Again, our targets are nowhere to be found.

The next two floors are full of enemies who would be great at protecting people from petty criminals, but not honour graduates from Beacon. We take them down as easily as the other bad guys in the building and head to the last floor, hoping the trip hasn't been a waste of time. Luckily, we find our targets in a large office which dominates almost the entire top floor of the building. One is a well-built man of nearly seven feet wearing a business suit and holding a shotgun. The other is a more average-sized dude with a runner's frame, holding a pair of shurikens.

"Okay, you two. Our orders are to bring you in alive, but no one said we can't shoot you in the foot," I tell them as Blake raises her pistol. Neither of them seem intimidated by the threat. The big guy aims his shotgun at my face while the small one throws a shuriken at Blake. She deflects it with her cleaver while I fire a blast at the big guy's feet. I then run forward and punch his chest a few times before jump-kicking his face. He goes down, and I turn to see Blake with her katana pressed against the small guy's neck.

"I surrender," he gulps. I take out my scroll to call Ozpin and tell him the targets are secure while Blake makes sure the guy isn't hiding any weapons.

"Professor, we got the guys, but we need extraction," I tell Ozpin when he answers.

"Go to the roof. There's an airship waiting for you," he replied. "Good job." He hangs up, leaving me to drag the unconscious lump of meat to the roof while the other captive only needs an occasional prod to keep moving. Getting to the ship is an exhausting journey, even with my brutish strength, and I immediately collapse once we're on board.

"Ms Long, Ms Belladonna, are you both okay?" the pilot asks as the ship ascends.

"Yeah… I… I'm good," I reply, breathing heavily. Blake nods and sits down next to me. By the time the airship lands at Beacon, the big guy has started to stir. He looks around in a daze as the ship touches down and tries to hit me. I block his attack and punch him in the face, telling him he'd better do as we say. He nods and disembarks the airship with us.

As Blake and I escort our captives to Ozpin's office, some of the Beacon students look at us in awe, having heard tales of our exploits. We ignore them, all our attention focused on making sure the guys in front of us don't try anything. They don't, and we reach the Headmaster's office without incident. Blake knocks and the door opens almost immediately, revealing Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch. Her face is as impassive as ever as she surveys our captives.

"Let me make one thing quite clear to you," she tells them as the four of us enter. "You will answer our questions, then you will be put on trial for conspiring against the kingdom. Do you understand?" They both nod. "Good. Then sit," she orders, gesturing at the chairs in front of Ozpin's desk. When they're seated, she tells Blake and I we're no longer needed.

"I'm staying," I reply. "Their boss crashed my wedding; I'm gonna find out everything I can about her so I can hunt the bitch down."

"Very well. You may stay for the questioning. But Yang?" Ozpin says.

"Yeah?"

"You will not look for Cinder under any circumstances, at least not until I give the order," he says gravely.

"Fine. But you'd better not send someone else to bring her in," I tell him.

"You have my word that you and your team will be my first choice when the time comes," he promises.

"Good."

The questioning lasts half an hour, and all we learn is that Cinder is hiding in Menagerie, recruiting White Fang remnants, Faunus who still believe in the ideals of the organisation, despite the fact that Faunus are now practically equal and the organisation is disbanded. We don't learn anything about what she's planning to do, which frustrates me to no end. I'm half tempted to ignore Ozpin's orders and go after her, but I decide against it.

Blake and I head home, and it's after six when we get there. Too tired to cook or go out, we order pizza to eat while watching a movie. As I pay the delivery guy, Blake picks a movie and gets a blanket for us to share. After putting the pizza on plates, I join my wife – _still strange to think of it like that_ – on the couch as she starts the movie. It's a comedy flick about two guys who meet an alien who recently escaped from a military base, and they have to help him get home. Despite being plagued with clichés, it's still quite funny, and Blake and I enjoy it.

When the movie's over, Blake turns off the TV and snuggles closer to me under the blanket. I wrap my arm around her and pull her in as close as I can, using my other hand to untie her bow. Now that her ears are free, I can scratch the sensitive regions at their bases, causing her to purr contentedly. Other than that, nothing disturbs the silence as Blake and I snuggle on the couch. Eventually, comfort and the heat from each other's bodies cause us to fall asleep, and I dream of standing over the ruins of Cinder's organisation, hand in hand with Blake.


	4. An Unpleasant Surprise

**Yang**

I wake up the next day, still on the couch with Blake. The clock reads 10:00, which is really early for me, but then again, I did go to sleep pretty early last night. I carefully disentangle myself from my wife's embrace so I can begin the day. As I walk through our bedroom to take a shower, I notice we didn't make the bed yesterday. Oh well. After the night we had in it, the sheets probably need changed again.

I shower very quickly then brush my teeth and get dressed. When I'm done, I exit my bedroom and find that Blake is awake and has a cup of coffee. "Morning, beautiful," she says when she sees me.

"Sleep well?" I ask, making my way over to kiss her.

"Yeah. You?"

"Of course I did. I was sleeping with you." She rolls her eyes while reaching up to pull my face to hers. Our lips meet and I melt into the kiss.

"Going out?" she asks when we separate.

"Nah. I just needed to change. And you need to brush your teeth if we're gonna be making out any time soon."

"Oh? Who said we'll be making out?" she asks with a smirk. Before I answer, there's a knock at the door. I open it to reveal Ruby and Weiss.

"Hi. Wasn't expecting to see you two," I tell them. "Come on in." They follow me into the living room and sit on the couch, greeting Blake as they enter. "Want anything? Food, coffee?" I ask.

"No thanks," Weiss answers.

"Cookies!" Ruby exclaims. _Of course she does. Silly question, really_ , I think.

"So, what's up? I take it this isn't a social call," I say, giving Ruby a large plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"What makes you say that?" Weiss asks.

"You don't do social calls, Weiss," Blake tells her. "You have something to talk to us about."

"Well, I was planning to ask how married life is, but apparently I don't do that," she says.

"Oh, it's great. Been hectic though," I tell her.

"Why?" Ruby asks.

"Well, Cinder, then a mission yesterday. Just woke up recently," I explain.

"Yeah, I was gonna ask: who was that woman who showed up and scared Cinder away?"

"Raven Branwen. My mother," I answer, prompting shocked gasps from both Ruby and Weiss.

"Your _mother_?" Weiss asks incredulously.

"Yeah," I answer. "She apparently vanished to protect Dad and I. She also said Cinder's a pawn of a much more powerful group who want to destroy civilisation."

"That's not good," Ruby deadpans.

"Way to state the obvious there, sis," I tell her. "We don't know anything about them except limited info from Raven. And I can't go after Cinder until Ozpin lets me."

"Do you even know where she is?" Weiss asks.

"Menagerie, according to two of her operatives we captured yesterday," Blake answers.

"Wait, you captured some of her operatives?" Ruby asks.

"Yeah. She's got a whole security firm as a front to make some legal money to fund whatever she's up to," I reply. "We had to fight several rogue Huntsmen to get to our targets."

"Shit. Not your average mercenaries in her employ, then," Weiss says. "Did you have any trouble?"

"Please. Have you met me?" I ask jokingly. "Blake did pretty well too."

"Really, honey?" Blake asks. "How exactly did you do better than me?"

"I got the receptionist. I got at least eight of the guys at the shooting range. We took down the same amount of baton pricks. I got the big fucker while you just threatened the small one."

"The receptionist didn't even fight. And you didn't get more than six of the shooting range people."

"You go right on telling yourself that, if it helps you sleep at night," I tell her, winking.

"Careful. You don't want to sleep on the couch, do you?"

Before I answer, Ruby loudly clears her throat. "Guys? We can see you flirting," she complains.

"Sorry," I tell her. "Anyway, anything important going on with you two?"

"Like what?" Weiss asks.

"I dunno. Anything. Mission stuff, personal stuff, whatever."

"No. We're on call for a mission though. The police want us to take down Torchwick, they're just looking for a lead on what he's up to or where he is."

"Make sure you succeed," Blake tells her. "If Cinder or someone from her group hires the bastard again, they'll rule Vale's criminal underground. That would be really bad."

"Don't worry," Ruby assures her. "He's not gonna get away."

Suddenly, there's a loud crash and the sound of many booted feet hitting the floor. I get up and look towards the door of the apartment, where a riot squad have positioned themselves.

"Yang Xiao Long! Surrender!" their leader yells at me.

"Who the _fuck_ let you into my apartment?" I ask. "And are you planning to pay for the door you broke?"

"This is no time for jokes. You and your team are under arrest," the leader tells me.

"On whose authority?" I ask.

"Yang? What's happening?" Blake calls.

"The Valian Council's," the leader says smugly. "We've also been ordered to kill you if you resist."

"Good luck with that, buddy," I tell him.

"You don't even have your weapons! What do you plan to do against us? And even if you do get past us, there's another squad outside the apartment. And another in the building lobby, and another outside the building. There's nothing you can do."

I sigh and calmly walk towards him, not even a little bit worried that he might shoot me. He starts insisting that I stay back before I grab his rifle, rip it out of his hands and hit him in the face with it. Blood pours from his now-broken nose as he crumples to the floor.

"Guys! Make yourselves useful!" I yell at my teammates. Ruby and Weiss face off against the riot squad while Blake and I grab our weapons from the living room. When we get back to the hallway, every officer is on the floor, clutching a wound or a broken bone. We hear the next squad running towards the apartment so Weiss casts a glyph on the floor next to the door which will freeze anything that steps on it.

"That'll buy us some time, but what do we do?" she asks frantically.

"We can't go that way, too many enemies," Ruby says. "We'll have to jump."

"Are you crazy?! That's fifteen storeys!" Weiss yells.

"I still need to get dressed," Blake says. She disappears into our bedroom and reappears a couple of minutes later in her regular attire.

"Jumping sounds good," I say. "You have your glyphs anyway, Weiss. Just slow yourself down if you're scared."

"Go, go, go!" a male voice yells. Almost immediately, a different voice yells, "holy shit!" and I figure someone set off Weiss' glyph.

"Let's go!" Ruby yells, running towards the panoramic window and firing Crescent Rose. The glass shatters and we all jump through as an officer behind us yells at us to stop. I flip over and hold my middle finger up towards the door just before it vanishes from view. I flip back onto my front and see the ground screaming towards me. _Just like initiation_ , I think. _Use Ember Celica to slow down, roll when I hit the ground. Easy._

I do so, and several loud bangs tell me Ruby goes for a similar tactic. Meanwhile, Blake rams Gambol Shroud into the wall of the building and swings to the ground from her ribbon before retracting her weapon from the wall. Weiss hops off a series of ethereal platforms she summoned. When the four of us have landed, onlookers stare in wonder. A young boy out shopping with his parents asks if we can do it again. We ignore him and run off, paying no heed to the direction we're travelling in.

After several minutes of running, we stop in an alley and look around, making sure we weren't followed. We then spend a couple of minutes catching our breath.

"Now what?" Weiss asks.

"We're fugitives," Blake answers.

"Someone must be controlling the Council. They wouldn't order the arrest of four of the best Huntresses in the kingdom," Ruby points out.

"So what do we do?" Weiss asks.

"I'll check the news, see if they've announced anything," I reply, pulling out my scroll. I turn it on and Lisa Lavender's face is displayed on the screen.

 _"This is an important announcement. The Huntresses Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long – seen here,"_ at this point, images of our faces are shown, _"have been found to have ties to terrorist cells and are now considered enemies of the kingdom. Earlier today, riot squads were dispatched to bring them to justice, but were unsuccessful. The Huntresses are now on the run and should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. If anyone comes forward with information leading to their arrest, they will be rewarded. Thank you for your attention."_

"Great. Now everyone thinks we're terrorists," Weiss says.

"Ozpin should be able to sort it out," Ruby tells us optimistically. "Meanwhile, we need to get out of the kingdom."

Suddenly, my scroll starts ringing, and I see Ozpin's trying to call me. I answer and see an angry and confused expression on his face.

"We didn't do anything, Professor!" I tell him.

"I know," he replies gravely. "I don't believe a word of what the public's been told. But this bodes ill…"

"What do we do?" Ruby asks.

"Well, Miss Rose, the best thing would be to break our enemies' power over the Council and make them revoke the arrest orders on the four of you, clearing your names. But that is easier said than done."

"So you agree that someone else is controlling them?" Blake asks.

"Oh, yes," Ozpin replies. "Where matters like this are concerned, they consult me first. You are my former students, after all. I knew nothing of this until now."

"We could ask to see the charges," Weiss suggests.

"No, they'd kill you on sight. Or try to, anyway," Ozpin points out. "It pains me to say it, but you will have to find Roman Torchwick and… _convince_ him to assist you."

"Why?" I ask.

"We have information not even the police have."

"Wait, who's 'we'?" I ask.

"Myself, your father, your mother, your uncle, the rest of the Beacon staff. Need I go on?"

"No, I see the point. Continue."

"Thank you. As I was saying, we have information not even the police know. After the attack on Vale four years ago, Torchwick never left the employ of Cinder's organisation. If they're controlling the Council, it stands to reason that Torchwick's men are within the Parliament building in the middle of the city," Ozpin explains. "Find him, get him to cooperate, you may be able to get inside and do what you have to do."

"Where is he?" Ruby asks.

"We don't know. You'll have to find him. Good luck." He hangs up.

"Where do we start?" Blake asks, very business-like.

"Junior's club," I reply. "Best place to start if you want to find _anyone_."

"No sense dilly-dallying," Weiss says. "Let's go."

"Not that simple, honey," Ruby points out. "We're wanted fugitives, remember?"

"Then what do we do?"

"Lay low. Wait til nightfall. Move out," Blake tells her. "Less people around plus the cover of darkness means we're not as likely to get caught."

"All right. Let's find somewhere to hide out and figure out how to get Junior to talk," Ruby tells us. "Wait, can we make it to the Emerald Forest?"

"If we're careful, yes," I reply. "Let's go." We start moving in the direction of the forest, sticking to back alleys. Crossing the entire city takes a couple of hours, but eventually we make it to the relative safety of the trees. We stay there until the sun goes down, at which point we prepare to go interrogate Junior.


	5. Unforeseen Collaborations

**Yang**

We head back into Vale under the cover of darkness and make our way to Junior's club. As we walk, we constantly look around us to make sure no one tries to do anything that would be bad for us. We arrive without incident and enter the club, which is practically deserted aside from Junior and his henchmen. The henchmen freak out when they see us and rush to grab their weapons and stop us in our tracks while Junior gulps and straightens his tie.

"Nobody shoot!" he yells. "Let's be civil. Ladies, what do you want?"

"Where's Torchwick?" I ask, pushing past Junior's men and walking towards the bar.

"Roman Torchwick?" Junior asks, matching my pace.

"No, his son, John Torchwick. The fuck do you think?" I reply as I reach the bar. "Get me a strawberry sunrise," I snap at the bartender.

"Fair point. Why should I tell you?" Junior asks.

"Don't push me, dipshit."

"All right, fine, I'll tell you what I know. He was hired by some top-secret society who want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet," he starts.

"I know. Where is he _now_?" I ask forcefully, taking my drink from the bartender.

"Last I heard, he was in Mistral. I don't know if he's still there."

"How long ago?"

"Couple of weeks, maybe?" he says doubtfully.

"I don't want a _maybe_ , I want a _definitely_ ," I growl. I'm getting more annoyed every time Junior opens his mouth.

"Okay, sorry. Yeah, it was fifteen days ago when I heard that. He _might_ have moved, but I can't say. What I do know is that he remotely contacted me and asked for some of my men. I didn't wanna fuck around with him, so I did what he asked. Now my boys are at Parliament."

"Do you know why?" I ask, more calmly now that I'm getting some answers.

"Torchwick said someone wants him keeping an eye on the Council. Easiest way to do that is have people on the inside working security. They can overhear a lot of stuff," Junior explains. "I don't know anything else about what he's up to, but his guys hang out in a bar close to Parliament when they're off duty. You might be able to get more out of one of them."

"Thank you, Junior. You've been _very_ helpful. But this conversation: it never happened. Understood?" He nods and I gesture to the rest of Team RWBY that we're done here. They follow me out of the club and we consider our next move.

"We're gonna need more inconspicuous clothing. We can't keep moving around at night," Blake points out.

"We can't exactly go into a store and buy what we need," Weiss answers.

"No. We'll have to steal some stuff," Blake tells us quietly.

" _No_!" Weiss hisses. "I can't _steal_ stuff. Don't be foolish!"

"I don't like it either, Weiss, but it's our only option," Ruby says softly, putting her hand on Weiss' arm. "It's not like we'll get caught anyway. Blake is one of Beacon's stealthiest graduates ever."

"Yes. I can get what we need, but it'll take a while. Hoodies, jeans, sunglasses. Couple of trips to get everything," Blake tells us. "But we'll have to avoid our signature colours. Of course, _some_ trace should remain, because anyone who's looking for us will expect us to have none at all, if they know us at all."

"Fine. But only because it's necessary," Weiss says grudgingly. We look for a store that will have everything we need and Blake climbs onto the roof.

"Wait here," she tells us before moving out of sight. Ten minutes later, we hear, "Ruby! Weiss!" being whispered and some clothes drop down. I turn my back to allow the two of them to change while we wait for Blake to come back with clothes for her and me. It's not long before she's back and we change quickly.

Next, we figure out which bar Junior was talking about. It doesn't take long, because there's only one within five blocks of Parliament. In the ten or so minutes we spend staking the place out, we don't see anyone who looks like they work for Torchwick.

"We need constant surveillance," Ruby announces quietly. "And we can't afford to waste time. We need to make a plan _now_ and be ready to execute it when a target shows up."

"We can't make a scene once inside," Weiss says. "Subtlety is important."

"Yeah, but so is acting natural. No offence, Weiss, but if we're taking the 'trick the guy into trusting one of us then lure him to the rest of the team for interrogation' approach, you're not cut out for the baiting job," I tell her.

"You had the same plan?" Blake asks. "We really do think the same way."

"It's the best way," Ruby points out. "If we ambush a guy on his way out, it could go wrong. Yang, I hate to ask you to do this now that you're married, but you'll have to seduce the target once he's located."

"I uh... I don't know. I wouldn't feel right doing it," I say regretfully.

"Do it," Blake tells me. "I know it means nothing, it's just business. It's not like anything's gonna happen anyway. Just be alluring."

"Okay. What about the rest of you?"

"We'll be waiting in the alley twenty yards to the left of the door as you exit. Tell the guy you're taking him back to your place and that the alley is a shortcut," Ruby replies. "Anyone have any questions?"

No one did, so we prepared to keep watching the bar and Parliament for common visitors. After a day and a half, Blake spots a guy in a security guard outfit exit Parliament and head for the bar. I take in his appearance just before he gets out of sight and we all get into position. I unzip my hoodie a bit and reveal more cleavage before entering the bar and immediately spotting my mark. He has a shaven head and a nose that looks like it's been broken more than once. He's well-built and looks like ordinary people would be intimidated by him. His uniform consists of a dark blue jacket and pants and a belt with an empty holster. Apparently the Parliament guards have to leave their weapons at work when they clock out.

I decide to wait a while before making a move, so I sit several stools away from the dude and order a beer. After a few minutes, he seems pretty relaxed and carefree, so I sidle up beside him.

"Hey. You're looking tired. Want a drink?" I ask him in my best seductive voice.

"Huh? Yeah, sure," he replies.

"Get me two more of whatever he's having," I call to the bartender, gesturing at the guy beside me. Within a minute, two shots of whiskey are placed in front of us.

"My, my. Strong start," I tell him. "I've already had some beer, so I can't do liquor now. Looks like you'll have to drink them both." I give him a dazzling smile and he picks up the first shot. "What's your name?" I ask when he finishes his drink.

"Mark. Yours?" he answers. I notice his pupils are dilated. This should be easy if he's that drunk already.

"Sarah," I reply. Despite his obvious drunkenness, I don't want to use my real name. It stands out, even to an alcohol-muddled brain. Can't be too careful.

"Nice name," Mark says. "Wanna get out of here? It's kinda loud."

"I was gonna suggest the same. Come on, let's go to my place." Mark nods and follows me out of the bar. We turn left and walk twenty yards, at which point we come to the mouth of the alley Ruby specified. "Shortcut," I tell Mark, walking down it. He grunts in compliance. About halfway down the alley, I hear a surprised "huh?" and turn to see the cold metal blade of Gambol Shroud pressed to Mark's neck.

"You work for Torchwick?" I ask him. He nods slowly. "Where's your boss?"

"In the city! S-s-service tunnel to the north!"

"Sounds familiar," Blake says. "It's probably a trap."

"Yeah, but it's all we've got," Ruby points out. "What else can you tell us?" she asks Mark.

"No! Torchwick will kill me!" he protests.

"He's the least of your worries," I tell him, cracking my knuckles.

"Okay, okay! He's there with a team of Beacon dropouts. You'll never get to him!"

"Yes we will," I reply, punching him. He falls to the ground, unconscious. "We know exactly where we're going, come on!" I tell my teammates, heading to the same building we entered four years ago. The journey is uneventful and we enter to find no one. Just like last time, we head to the basement where there's a corridor leading to the service tunnel. In the corridor, we find Roman and Team CRDL sitting playing cards.

"Hello, boys," I say, cocking Ember Celica.

"Oh, fuck that," Cardin says, standing up and dropping his cards. He starts inching towards the other end of the corridor while Roman yells at him to stop. "These four will crush us! We don't stand a chance!" he complains.

"Kid, you just don't get it, do you?" Roman asks him. "You're supposed to do as I say. So don't retreat and take these bitches down!"

"Not gonna happen. They got top honours at Beacon. We didn't even finish our training," Russel says.

"What's it gonna be, boys? Fight, or run like the little pussies we all know you are?" I taunt. Without saying a word, all four members of Team CRDL run. Roman sighs.

"Why are you here?" he asks.

"Simple. You're going to get us into Parliament," Weiss tells him.

"No I'm not," he replies, laughing. A split second later, Myrtenaster is pressed against his neck.

"Yes you are."

"Why?" he asks fearfully. I notice his cane in his hand so I take it off him, knowing how proficient he is with it.

"You know why," Blake tells him. "Someone's controlling the Council, and we need to clear our names."

"Oh, kitty cat!" Roman laughs.

"Only _I_ get to call her that," I say punching him in the gut. He grunts and doubles over as far as he can without Weiss' sword piercing his neck.

"Even if I get you in there, what do you plan to do?" he asks. "The Council members won't do what you want."

"Leave that to us. Just get us inside," Blake replies.

"What do I get out of it?"

"We don't let Yang beat you into submission," Weiss tells him. For good measure, I crack my knuckles.

"Fine! But it won't be easy."

"We can handle it," Ruby says. "Just come up with a plan."


	6. Forming a Plan

**Yang**

"Okay, Miss Schnee, can you get that oversized toothpick off my neck now? I can't think with the threat of being pierced through the throat always looming over me," Roman asks cautiously. Weiss lowers Myrtenaster without saying a word. "Thank you. Now, Parliament is pretty well guarded and not everyone in there is employed by me. Getting the four of you in covertly may not be possible."

"Why not?" Ruby asks.

"My first thought would be to have my guys take you in as 'prisoners' and let you do whatever you're planning, but it would look suspicious if all four of you are brought in by the same guys," Roman explains. "Maybe two of you can go."

"It would be best to not have all of us doing the same thing," Blake points out. "Ozpin might have something for us to do. Makes more sense to have at least one of us on standby."

"She's right," I agree. "Besides, how hard can it be for just two or three of us to get this done?"

"Do we even know what we're doing?" Weiss asks.

"Get in, find out if the Council are being blackmailed or something or if their minds are being controlled. If it's the first one, get them to tell us who's blackmailing them. If it's the second one, erase the charges against us from their records," Ruby tells us.

"What if they're being blackmailed, but they're too scared to cooperate with us?" I ask. "Or if they're being paid to do what the bad guys want?"

"Simple. Find record of their corruption and threaten to expose it."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Weiss asks.

"Isn't Ren good with computers?" Blake asks. "We'll call him, get him to do some digging."

"There's a problem with that idea," Roman interjects. "None of my guys work in the security room and my employers get access to all the security tapes."

"I don't see the problem," Ruby replies.

"We _might_ be able to trick my employers into thinking you're actual prisoners until you enter the Council chambers. Then they'll notice what you get up to in there," Roman explains.

"Meh. Not like we'll be screwing in there," I tell him. Blake elbows me in the ribs and tells me to be quiet.

"It's simple. Someone gets into the security room and barricades the door from the inside. They turn off the cameras before anyone goes into the Council chambers," Weiss suggests.

"That's what I was gonna suggest," Ruby says. "Except I was gonna suggest not sending the tapes to these people."

"They'd still get suspicious either way," Roman points out.

"Machines can break. They have no reason to suspect anything if there's a software issue," I tell him. "Hell, Ren could probably make an _actual_ software issue."

"You four have an answer to everything, don't you?" he sighs. "Look, anything you do will be risky, no matter how good the plan. In fact, solving all these little hitches is only going to make it harder to succeed because you'll have more to worry about."

"So tell us the important things."

"Like I said, not all of you can go. Two at most. You'll have to 'overpower' my guys, then one of you goes to the security office and deletes the tapes for that day while the other enters the Council chamber and does whatever. With me so far?"

"Yeah," Ruby replies. "Weiss, you and I will go. I'll handle the Council, you get the security office."

"Okay," Weiss says.

"What do Yang and I do?" Blake asks.

"Wait outside, far enough to not look suspicious but close enough to be useful if things go south. One wrong move and your friends are dead," Roman tells her. "They'll need you two on point in case the plan goes awry."

"Got it," I say. "When do we move?"

"As soon as possible. Whoever's controlling the Council isn't going to wait forever. Something's gonna happen," Ruby replies.

"My guys report back to me every night, so you can go tomorrow," Roman tells us. "I'd suggest getting some sleep."

"One of us needs to stay on watch. We can't trust him," Blake points out, gesturing at Torchwick.

"Come on, I'm risking my life to help you!" he protests.

"And that's why we can't trust you. You might try to get out of this," Blake tells him. "I'll take first watch."

I lean against the wall while Ruby and Weiss huddle together. A few minutes later, the three of us are blissfully asleep while Blake presumably keeps an eye on our reluctant ally. I dream of possible scenarios for Ruby and Weiss' mission the next day.

_Ruby and Weiss enter Parliament, surrounded by a squad of armed "guards". To keep up appearances, the two women are slouching somewhat, trying to look dejected and humiliated at their "capture". Blake and I are on a park bench, Blake reading while I surf the web on my scroll. A short time later, gunfire is heard and screams resonate from the building. An emergency call from Ruby comes in on my scroll, so Blake and I rush into Parliament to aid our teammates._

_Once inside, we see an intense firefight. Ruby and Weiss are crouching behind a wall of ice, no doubt summoned by the heiress, while about forty guys shoot at them. The frozen barrier is slowly chipping away, so Blake and I waste no time in taking down the enemies. In less than two minutes, they're all dead or unconscious while the four of us only received minor injuries._

The dream fades and is replaced with a new one.

_Ruby and Weiss enter Parliament, surrounded by a squad of armed "guards". To keep up appearances, the two women are slouching somewhat, trying to look dejected and humiliated at their "capture". Blake and I are on a park bench, Blake reading while I surf the web on my scroll._ _An important broadcast is suddenly displayed on the screen._

"The Huntresses Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, who had been on the run after allegations of terrorism, were brought in today for interrogation and trial. They managed to break free from their captors and nearly succeeded in assassinating the Council. However, Parliament guards were able to bring the criminals down. They are now awaiting trial. If convicted, they will face lifetime imprisonment with no chance of parole. Thank you for your attention," _Lisa Lavender announces._

_"I'll kill them all!" I scream, charging towards Parliament. Inside, a red haze clouds my vision as I viciously attack anyone in my way. Just as I reach the Council chamber, an immense pain shoots through my back and I collapse. My vision goes dark as I realise I've been shot._

Suddenly, I feel someone shaking my shoulder, pulling me back to reality. I open my eyes and see Blake, her face full of concern.

"You all right? Your hair was starting to smoke," she asks gently.

"Yeah, I'm good. Bad dream," I reply.

"Okay. You slept four hours; wanna take the next watch?"

"Yeah, sure. Get some rest," I tell her, kissing her softly. She curls up against me and puts her head in my lap, falling asleep almost instantly. I notice Roman is also asleep, so I get out my scroll and quietly play some games. Soon, several men who I assume are employed by Torchwick come down the corridor, stopping when they see us. I kick Torchwick to wake him up.

"Wha-huh?" he stammers, looking around. He spots his men and collects himself before speaking again. "Hello boys!" he calls out quietly.

"Sir, why are _they_ with you?" one of the guys asks, gesturing at me and the rest of my team.

"Unplanned circumstances, fellas," Roman explains. "We're getting them into Parliament."

"Why?" the other guys asks fearfully.

"Because if we don't, Blondie will beat us until we do," Roman tells him. "You tell me which option you prefer." For good measure, I give the henchmen a sweet smile.

"What's the plan?" the first guy asks, watching me warily.

"You two and a few others are gonna take two of them in as prisoners. Once inside, you let them 'overpower' you while they do what they need to do. So simple even you guys can handle it."

"All right, sir, when are we doing this?" the second guy asks.

"In a few hours. Get some more guys and get ready," Roman tells them. They leave without saying anything else. I go back to playing games while occasionally glancing up at Torchwick to make sure he's not trying anything funny. After a while, Ruby wakes up and my scroll tells me it's a little after six in the morning.

"Morning, Yang," Ruby says, yawning widely. "I'll finish the watch, go back to sleep." I lean back again, eyes closed but not falling asleep. I can't help thinking of my dream. What if something goes wrong, Ruby and Weiss are captured and I'm killed before I can rescue them? Or worse, what if they're killed before they can call for help? I couldn't live with myself if I failed to keep my baby sister safe. She's nineteen, she can look after herself, but I still feel really protective of the girl. And Weiss... She and I have had our differences in the past, and we haven't always seen eye to eye, but she's almost like a sister to me. Wait, no, that doesn't work. Ruby's my sister and I don't feel _nearly_ as protective of Weiss as I do of Ruby. Not to mention the fact that those two are dating, which would almost seem like incest if Weiss were like my sister. However you want to look at it, she and I are still close and I'd be slightly more than displeased if something happened to her.

Blake suddenly shifts in her sleep, and I look down to see her peaceful face framed by ebony locks. She looks so serene and carefree, a welcome change from her stoic demeanour she has when she's awake. _At least she'll be safe if something goes wrong_ , I think, then mentally slap myself. _Shame on you, Yang!_ my brain scolds. _You should be thinking about what to do if something_ does _go wrong, not being glad Blake will be fine if it does._ Eventually, I fall into a fitful sleep.

A couple of hours later, I wake to the sound of activity around me. I open my eyes and see everyone else already up and gathering equipment. Several more of Roman's men are with us, watching us, especially me, nervously. They've brought handcuffs, and a heated debate between Weiss and two of them about when the Huntresses will start wearing them is taking place.

"You are _not_ putting those things on me here!" Weiss is yelling at the two guys. "You're lucky I even agreed to wear them at all!"

"But you have to!" one of them protests. "The façade won't be believable if you don't!"

"Which is why I agreed to it! But not now!" the heiress shoots back.

"Fine! But as soon as we're within three blocks, they're going on!" the second guy tells her. Weiss huffs, but doesn't argue further.

"Oh, Yang, you're awake," Ruby says when she notices me. "Good. We've been going over the plan. You and Blake will be hanging out a block away from Parliament, while Weiss and I sort things out. Just stay alert and don't look suspicious."

I nod and stretch, blinking sleep out of my eyes. I don't have anything to do, because I slept wearing my gauntlets, so I get up and walk around a bit, trying not to think. A short time later, Ruby, Weiss and Torchwick's henchmen head down the corridor and up the stairs, where apparently an "official government vehicle" is waiting to bring the "prisoners" to Parliament. Blake and I follow to see them off. Along the way, thoughts of something going horrible wrong begin to creep into my head.

"You okay?" Blake asks. "You're getting tense again."

"I just can't help thinking, what if one of us fucks up?" I reply. "If any of you get hurt and I fail to protect you…"

"Hey, listen," Blake tells me, putting her hand on my arm. "We'll all be fine. We'll get through this. Nothing's gonna go wrong. We're some of the best Huntresses ever to graduate from Beacon. If you think about it, that means we're some of the best in history, given that Beacon's widely considered the best combat school there is."

"Yeah, you're right." By this point, we're outside and there's an armoured car waiting for us. It's a sunny day with no clouds in the sky. No one walks past as the car is loaded, not surprising given what district we're in. Ruby rolls down her window to talk to us.

"Just go where I told you. We'll be fine," she tells us.

"Hey, Ruby?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. Don't do anything too risky," I implore.

"Don't worry, Yang," my sister reassures me. "See you on the other side."


	7. Infiltration

**Ruby**

Weiss and I are sitting quietly in the armoured car, surrounded by guys in riot gear. I reluctantly agreed to let one of them take Crescent Rose, loaded with rubber bullets so I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally killing anyone in the heat of the moment, because prisoners wouldn't be allowed to carry their weapons. It's still really upsetting to see her with someone else though. The minute she's back in my hands will be a good one. Too bad I'll be too busy to savour the moment.

"You okay?" Weiss asks, putting her hand on my leg.

"Yeah. You?" I reply, smiling confidently.

"A little nervous. A lot is riding on this. We can't mess up at all."

"I know, Weiss. Don't worry," I tell her.

"Last time you said that, I had to spend half an hour cleaning cookie dough off the _ceiling_ , for crying out loud." I snicker at the memory. What happened was, I once decided to experiment with my regular cookie recipe by adding a dash of Dust. Long story short, there was an awesome reaction in the bowl when it was time to mix all the ingredients and dough went everywhere. We still don't know what reacted with what to make it happen. Weiss doesn't let me anywhere near the baking supplies though.

"Almost there, you two," one of the henchmen announces. "Time for the cuffs."

"Go ahead," I tell him cheerfully, holding out my wrists. Weiss looks at me in shock while my inner Yang tells me I'm a little too eager to get handcuffed. I blush while the cuffs are being put on.

"What is it?" the guy asks.

"Just thinking what my sister would say in this situation," I reply. Weiss grudgingly puts out her wrists and allows herself to be cuffed as the car pulls up outside Parliament.

"All right, we got two high-value prisoners, bringing them in," the lead henchman says gruffly into a comm device.

"You're clear. Be careful with them," a voice replies. Someone opens the door of the car and we all file out. Weiss and I hide our faces as best we can while the guards crowd round us, leaving no escape had we actually been prisoners. We enter Parliament and a guy in a suit stops us. He's tall and has sunglasses and an earpiece. He looks at Weiss and I in turn and smiles.

"Council will want to speak to them right away," he tells our guards. "Go on ahead."

"This is almost too easy," I whisper to Weiss.

"When people say that, it usually means everything's about to go to shit," she whispers back. Our guards escort us down a long hallway during this conversation and stop when we reach a fork. The cuffs are removed and our weapons are returned to us. I'm kinda tempted to hug Crescent Rose now that I have her back, but the lead guard starts talking before I do anything.

"Council chamber's that way-" he points down one hallway, "security room's down there." He points down the other hall.

"Thank you. We have to knock you out now," Weiss tells him.

"Why?" he asks.

"Not just you. The rest of you as well. Not exactly a prison break if our guards aren't dead or unconscious, is it?"

"Fine. Be quick." Weiss and I waste no time in delivering non-lethal strikes to the heads of the eight guys "guarding" us.

"See you later, then," I say, kissing her quickly.

"Bye." We run off in opposite directions to do our jobs. At the end of the corridor I'm running down, I see an elaborate wooden door. It's really pretty, so I decide to slow down and open it instead of smashing it down. Unfortunately, some real Parliament guards exit from a side room and, unsurprisingly, succeed in noticing a nineteen-year-old girl with a giant scythe.

"Hey, stop right there!" one of them yells, drawing his pistol. The others follow suit and I come to a very quick stop. The lead guard steps forward cautiously, never breaking eye contact with me. "Miss Ruby Rose, put down the weapon," he says calmly.

"I don't think so," I reply quietly.

"For a target like you, we're allowed to kill if live capture is too dangerous or difficult. In other words, we will use lethal force to stop you."

I don't bother replying this time. Instead, I use my Semblance to rush forward and get behind them. I then swing Crescent Rose in a wide arc, hitting the guards with the flat part of the blade. One of them hits his head on the floor when he falls and is down for the count. The other four get up and one of them tries to call for backup. I shoot him, and the impact sends him back several feet while a loud crack and a scream tell me at least one of his ribs is broken. Several more swings of Crescent Rose are all it takes to knock out the other guys.

I fold my weapon away and walk towards the wooden doors. Calmly pushing them open, I'm met with the sight of a darkened room with three middle-aged men sitting around a desk. One has a shock of grey hair sticking up in all directions and large round glasses, as well as uneven stubble growing on his face. The second guy has salt and pepper hair and is clean shaven. The third guy has a long black beard and twinkling beetle eyes. They look up and see me, but hardly react at all.

"Close the door on your way in, please," Glasses says.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?" I ask.

"Yes. We are very well aware that you have no connection at all with terrorists. However, someone wanted you out of the way without killing you, so we put out the arrest order with terrorism as the justification," Smoothface explains.

"Who? Name, place, anything you can tell me," I demand.

"Cinder's giving us orders remotely, but someone's paying us to follow Cinder's orders to the letter," Beardo answers.

"You do know what these people want to do, right?" I ask.

"Yes, but you don't understand," Glasses tells me. "A guy came to see us. How he got past security, I'll never know, but he had two briefcases. One was set to release toxins into the air when the timer ran out, one contained millions of Lien and a letter. He told us he would leave one case here and leave with the other. Obviously we chose life."

"That doesn't matter. What matters is your answer to my proposition," I tell them.

"Go ahead," Smoothface says, clearly intrigued.

"You clear our names, revoke the arrest order and give us all the information you have so we can track down Cinder and her associates. In exchange, we take them down and say nothing about them paying you to do their bidding."

"Listen, Miss Rose," Beardo says. "This is a difficult situation. These people, they'll kill us and our families if we disobey them. We're in too deep; we know too much. It's simply too risky. Even now, they're probably aware of this conversation."

"No they aren't," I tell him confidently. "My partner's making sure of it. And I didn't say you had to clear us right away."

"Allow us a moment to discuss," Glasses requests.

"Sure," I answer, and leave the room. The heavy wooden door blocks out all sound from inside the chamber, so I don't hear a word of their conversation. A few minutes later, the door opens and I'm called back in.

"We have made a decision," Glasses announces. "We agree to your deal, but your names will not be cleared until you have fulfilled your end. Do you accept our conditions?"

"If you mean you'll clear us when Cinder's defeated and her bosses are too busy doing other stuff to kill you, then yes, I do. I'll let my team know."

"That is more or less exactly what we mean, Miss Rose. We will send a private order to cease searching for the four of you, to make your job easier without the enemy knowing," Beardo tells me.

"No, don't. It's too risky, too many guys in this building work for Torchwick and therefore Cinder," I caution. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Very well. Perhaps we shall meet again someday," Smoothface says, extending a hand. I shake and turn to leave.

"Miss Rose?" Glasses calls. I turn back to hear what he has to say. "We will send everything we have on Cinder's whereabouts to your scroll. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir," I reply, and exit the chamber, closing the door behind me.

**Weiss (occurring simultaneously)**

While Ruby takes off at full speed towards the Council chamber, I more calmly walk towards the security office. As I do so, I take stock of my outfit, realising I may actually have to fight in it. Jeans, not the same as a combat skirt. Could be a hindrance. Hoodie would be fine, except an opponent could grab the hood if I'm not careful. Though I'd never admit it to the others, I'm actually grateful for the sneakers. They'll undoubtedly be much easier to fight in than the six-inch heels I usually wear for my missions.

As I walk, a well-built man in the standard guard outfit with what appears to be a chainsaw on his back comes round a corner from one of the side corridors, and spots me immediately.

"Weiss Schnee, you've made a serious mistake," he tells me, speaking in an accent I can't place. "Surrender or die," he adds, retrieving his chainsaw and revving it up.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," I mutter, drawing Myrtenaster and taking my standard combat stance. _Right foot forward, breathe slowly, focus..._ I tell myself, remembering the hours I spent as a child learning the basics of my craft. I close my eyes and collect my thoughts, hearing the chainsaw guy run towards me. I open my eyes at the last second and raise my sword to block his downward swing. The chainsaw bounces back as I do a backflip, landing a safe distance away so I can plan my next move.

 _Heavy weapon. Can't be easy for him to swing it around,_ I think, seeing his face contort in annoyance. _Of course, being mad might make him stronger._ Next thing I know, he's charging me again. I stab Myrtenaster into the floor and spread some ice between me and the guy, causing him to slip and fall. He grunts as he slides towards me and attempts to mutilate me as he passes. I gracefully dodge the swing, the whirring teeth of the blade not even coming close to touching me. I then shoot some fire Dust at him which he's unable to avoid. The smell of burning fabric meets my nostrils as the guy's shirt burns, searing the flesh underneath.

He begins screaming in agony, so I use some more ice to extinguish the flames and encase him, effectively ending the fight. With that threat eliminated, I continue on my way. It's not long before I reach a heavy duty steel door with an electronic lock. A small red light on the lock tells me the door isn't going to open. The words "SECURITY - AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY" are engraved on the door, so it doesn't take a genius to work out that it leads to the room I need to go to.

 _Generally, an electric shock would short-circuit a lock like that, allowing the door to open. But what if here, it puts the system in lockdown, sealing it completely?_ I wonder. _No other option. I'll have to risk it._

I spin some lightning Dust into Myrtenaster's chamber and gently touch the point to the lock. Electricity arcs from the sword to the lock, and the light goes out. I cautiously push on the door, which swings inward to reveal a dimly lit room with computer screens lining one wall. There's a guy sitting in a chair in front of the screens, but he's currently facing the door. The second he sees me, he reaches for a phone on his desk, probably to call for help. I cast a glyph to hold him in place while telling him to be quiet, closing the door behind me as I do so.

Satisfied that the guard won't be making any noise, I walk over to him and pull him out of the chair. He lands roughly on the floor, grunting a little as he turns to look at me nervously.

"Wh-what do you want?" he asks fearfully.

"To turn off the cameras and wire-taps throughout the whole building," I reply. "Something's currently happening, and it would be better if a certain group didn't find out about it."

"The uh... The system's on twenty-four seven, you can't turn it off," the guy tells me.

"Really?" I ask, noticing an extension cord plugged into the wall. Most, if not all of the computers in the room seem to be connected to this one cord. "What if I just unplug everything?"

"I uh... Didn't think of that," the guard admits. "But I can't let you do it."

"There are probably a dozen ways I could prevent you from stopping me, but we could do this the easy way," I reply. "Just lie down and pretend you're sleeping."

"No," he says forcefully, drawing his pistol.

"Wrong answer," I tell him, firing some lightning at him. He drops the gun and convulses, his eyes rolling back in his head. He collapses, hair standing up and smoking. I check to make sure I didn't kill him before unplugging the extension cord. The room is plunged into darkness as I exit, sealing the door with some ice on my way out.

Satisfied that I've done my part of the mission, I decide to go find Ruby. I run into her in the same place we last saw each other and she has a triumphant grin on her face. She briefly kisses me before asking what the escape plan is.

"Fight our way out, find a side exit or get to the roof and jump down," I tell her.

"Fighting seems fun, but not very smart," she replies. "I say roof. Easiest. Just get to the stairs and go up."

"All right, let's go." We consult a handy fire escape floor plan diagram to find the nearest stairwell and head towards it, looking out for any guards along the way. Luckily, none appear, and Ruby and I reach the roof without incident.

"Wow. Higher than I thought," Ruby says, looking over the edge. I also look down and see that we're about five storeys up. From this height, I see two women who I'm pretty sure are Blake and Yang, inconspicuously sitting on a bench. "Wait, fire exit," Ruby announces from the other side of the roof. I join her and look doubtfully at the rickety staircase on the wall. Something must be showing on my face, because Ruby asks, "what? It's perfectly safe."

"Okay. But you go first, honey," I reply. She grins and starts climbing down, reaching ground level in no time. I cautiously follow gaining confidence once I realise the structure is perfectly rigid. "Let's go meet the others. I saw them over that way," I tell Ruby, pointing in the direction I saw the other half of Team RWBY. We stow our weapons, hiding them with moderate difficulty before setting off. It's a short walk to meet Blake and Yang, who accompany us down an alley to discuss the mission.

"How'd it go?" Yang asks.

"Perfectly," Ruby says. "I didn't have a problem with the Council. They're being bought, but they're gonna send me everything they have on Cinder's whereabouts and clear our names once we stop her."

"And the security room was no trouble. I merely had to unplug the computers. So simple a child could have done it," I say.

"Excellent," Blake tells us. "A clean job. Hopefully it'll get us the results we need."

Suddenly, Ruby's scroll goes off. She looks at the information it presents, eyes lighting up as she reads.

"Guys, the government managed to trace all of Cinder's communications to the Council back to their source! I know exactly where she is!" she announces excitedly. "She's in Vacuo! Let's call Ozpin!" Yang whips out her scroll to contact our former Headmaster.

"Yang. Is there something I can help you with?" he asks as soon as he answers Yang's call.

"We know where Cinder is," the blonde replies.

"Really?" Ozpin asks, obviously surprised. "We've only just reached that conclusion ourselves. I'm impressed."

"So you'll let us go after her?" Yang asks.

"Yes. Make your way up to the school. An airship will be waiting to take you to Atlas."

"Atlas?" Ruby asks. "She's in Vacuo."

"That's not what our intel suggests. Perhaps it would be prudent for you to split up," Ozpin replies.

"I agree," Blake says. "Yang, you and I will go to Atlas, Ruby and Weiss will go to Vacuo."

"Sure," Yang says.

"That's fine," Ruby agrees.

"Oh, Ruby?" Yang asks. "If Cinder _is_ in Vacuo and not Atlas, wait until I arrive before taking her out."

"Sure thing, sis," Ruby replies.

"Very well. I will have another airship prepare. Make haste, ladies. Goodbye," Ozpin tells us, hanging up. The four of us head towards Beacon, climbing the immense staircase that was carved into the cliff two years ago so people didn't need an airship to visit the school. It's an exhausting climb for most people, but Huntresses are conditioned enough to handle it with ease. When we reach the airship docks, we see Ozpin waiting near two of the Atlesian military's new top-of-the-line supersonic jets.

"A decision has been made. Cinder may be too dangerous for confinement," the grey-haired Huntsman tells us when we approach. "You have permission to terminate her if you find her, but _only_ if you deem it the best course of action. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," we reply unanimously.

"Then good luck to all of you," Ozpin says, gesturing at us to board the jets.


	8. Welcome to Vacuo

**Weiss**

"Where we headed?" the pilot asks as Ruby and I sit down.

"Vacuo," Ruby replies.

"Sure thing. Any particular area? It's a big place."

"Outskirts. Probably a little outside the city itself. We don't want the target knowing we're coming if she's actually there," I suggest.

"Yeah. Put us down half a mile outside. How long until we get there?" Ruby asks.

"Top cruising speed would get us there in a couple of hours, but we can't maintain it for that long. Engines'll overheat," the pilot replies. "At the maximum safe speed, two and a half to three hours, so get comfortable."

He activates the flight computer, and a cool female voice announces "engines active. Vertical flight mode, engaged". We fly up slowly, getting about twenty feet in the air before the voice announces "horizontal flight mode, engaged".

"Buckle up, ladies," the pilot tells us, grinning. He throttles up, and the jet blasts forward, powered by twin thermal turbojets which combust flame Dust to generate the heat they need to work. A sonic boom tells me we broke the sound barrier almost immediately after we started. Inside the jet though, everything feels the same, besides the fact that we're pressed into our seats by inertia.

"Our coordinates point to a skyscraper downtown," Ruby tells me looking at her scroll. "Little bit of research reveals that the bottom half is office space rented out to corporations, top half is luxury apartments. No way to know where Cinder could be, but my guess is that she's not hiding in an office."

"I agree. How many floors is the building?" I ask.

"Forty. Twenty of them are living space. Eight apartments per floor."

"Dammit. That's a hundred and sixty," I say dejectedly.

"We can rule some out. Twenty-first to twenty-third floors are permanently rented out by the companies using the office space, probably for their employees in other kingdoms who could be on business trips to Vacuo."

"Still leaves a hundred and thirty-six. Any more to eliminate?" I ask, still not feeling too optimistic.

"Uh, lemme see," Ruby replies. "Okay, I've verified the residents of all but seven units. The rest check out, driver's licenses, paying taxes, clean records, everything. Those seven, though, the only record of the tenants is on the leases and the bank accounts used to pay the rent," she tells me after a few minutes of silence. "Other than that, they don't exist."

"Wait a second," I said, suddenly realising something. "How are you getting this information? There's no way it's all public records."

"Uhh... Hacking government databases?"

"Ruby Rose, do you realise how illegal that is?" I snap.

"Hey, I didn't actually do the hacking!" she protests. "Ren did, and he gave me a program to access the information."

"And you didn't think that maybe your teammates should know about this?"

"Yang does, but we knew you and Blake wouldn't approve, so we didn't tell you."

"Are you serious?" I exclaim. "WHY are we keeping secrets?!"

"Well..." Ruby says slowly. "Hey, my 'secret' just reduced the number of apartments we have to check from a hundred and sixty to seven, but I guess I shouldn't have done that!"

"That... That's not what I meant," I tell her quietly.

"Can we talk about this later?" she asks. "We need to focus."

"All right, all right. But we _are_ talking about it."

The next two hours are spent in silence. Ruby does stuff on her scroll while I stare at the landscape below, moving too fast for me to discern any details. Suddenly, my scroll goes off, and I see that Blake is calling.

"Is everything okay?" I ask when I accept the call. Blake's frowning face is on screen.

"Did you know Ruby and Yang have a program to hack government databases?" she asks.

"Until a couple of hours ago, no. Why?"

"Just curious. My _darling_ wife and sister-in-law think this is a good idea, that's all," Blake tells me with a forced smile.

"Come on, Blake, you know you love me!" Yang calls from off-screen. Blake rolls her eyes, but a small genuine smile forms on her lips.

"Yes, I do, but you can be _very_ annoying," she tells the blonde.

"That's my job, kitty cat."

"No, Yang, that was your job when you were my _girlfriend._ Now you're my _wife_ , so your job is to support me in times of stress and all that other mushy stuff neither of us actually care about."

"Bo-ring," Yang deadpans. I clear my throat loudly to remind the two that the line is still open.

"Sorry, Weiss," Blake tells me. "Anyway, just seeing if you knew. Good luck."

"You too. Bye," I reply before hanging up. Soon after, the pilot announces that we've arrived and I feel the jet slow down. It slowly descends, gently making contact with the ground as the engines spool back.

"All right, Weiss, we sneak over the wall or through the sewers. Your call," Ruby says as we disembark.

"Security checkpoint, like normal people?" I suggest.

"Weiss, we're still technically wanted. I don't know if they got the memo here, but still. Besides, Cinder might have people in Vacuo's security force, so it's safer if no one knows we're in the city," Ruby points out. I can't deny her logic, as much as I hate to admit it.

"Fine. We sneak over the wall, but we do it my way," I tell her. She nods. "I can cast a camouflage glyph over each of us. It won't make us invisible, but if we move _slowly_ we should be able to avoid being seen," I explain, making sure to stress that we need to move slowly. While undeniably a good Huntress, Ruby does tend do things quickly, a lot like her brute of a sister.

"And how do we get up?" the redhead in question asks.

"We find a blind spot and I use a sling glyph to launch us up."

"A wha...?" she asks, confused.

"Sling glyph. Two parts. One holds you in place and I can aim the shot and all that. The other part launches you. Remember how we took down the Nevermore during initiation?"

"Yeah?"

"It's kinda like the glyph I used to fire you at the cliff face, except it's more practical because it doesn't need a supply of pre-existing potential energy to work. It's a self-sufficient slingshot," I explain. Ruby's face lights up.

"Sounds fun. Let's do it," she tells me, grinning. I gather my thoughts and cast the first glyph over Ruby. Its effect takes hold and she suddenly blends in with the grey stone wall behind her. The camouflage is so good that I probably wouldn't notice her if I didn't know she's there. Next, I cast the same glyph on myself. I look down and see that my legs and feet are now the same colour as the ground beneath them. As I step forward, the colours shift to match the new area of ground, creating a noticeable ripple effect. Even so, it shouldn't be a problem if we move slowly. If anyone sees anything, they'll probably think it's a trick of the light.

Ruby and I walk for a few minutes, trying to find a spot on the wall where guards won't see two multicoloured streaks land. Eventually, we find a good place to launch from and I prepare the sling. Two glyphs appear, one large one around Ruby and a smaller one underneath her, with thin glowing lines connecting the two. I look at the wall to determine the best angle and power for the shot, and wave my hand to position the glyph and payload accordingly. The redhead looks at me and nods, so I make a sharp upward gesture and the bottom glyphs snaps upwards, propelling Ruby skywards. A couple of seconds later, I hear a gentle thud as she lands at the top, so I do the same for myself and launch upwards.

When I land, I take a good look at the city of Vacuo. Its skyline doesn't resemble Vale's one bit. The downtown region is all skyscrapers, every one of them covered in neon lights and giant logos. Even from this distance, I can hear the sounds of traffic trying to navigate the undoubtedly busy streets. In the sunset, the entire city is bathed in a warm glow that I know won't last long, as people are heading home to get ready for parties and club-hopping. I'd prefer to do the mission during the day, because there would be less people in the building we're targeting, reducing the risk of collateral damage. Unfortunately, we can't afford to wait. If Cinder _is_ here, she might not be for long.

"Let's go, before any guards show up," Ruby tells me. I nod and make a series of glyphs, forming a sort of staircase towards ground level. We jump down quickly and I remove the glyphs.

We land in a deserted alley and, judging by the lack of any noise from the wall, none of the guards notice us either. Wordlessly, Ruby checks the coordinates on her scroll and starts walking towards downtown. I follow, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. A ten-minute walk later, we arrive at the target building without incident.

It's an impressive structure, constructed from limestone and glass. Through the doors, I can see a dark grey marble hallway. As Ruby and I enter, I observe a large reception desk made of mahogany wood. It's currently unstaffed, meaning there's no one to stop us from entering the gold elevator at the other side of the hallway.

"Where are the suspicious units?" I ask.

"Start from the twenty-seventh floor," Ruby replies. I thumb the button marked "27" and the elevator deposits us a short while later. Weapons drawn, we prowl through the corridor, looking for the room whose occupants Ruby was unable to verify earlier. We find it fairly quickly, what with there only being eight apartments, and to no one's surprise, it's locked.

"I can kick it down," Ruby tells me.

"And _I_ can simply unlock it," I reply, raising my hand and concentrating. A white symbol glows on the door, and the tell-tale _click_ of a lock being opened is heard. Ruby looks at me, mouth agape. "It's called being civilised," I tell her. She shrugs and walks into the apartment.

Inside, a Faunus with deer antlers is watching TV and doesn't hear us enter. Ruby, ever the subtle type, plants Crescent Rose in the poor guy's floor and yells "hands up!"

The Faunus scrambles to his feet, turns around and looks at us fearfully. He slowly raises his hands, which are visibly shaking. "Wh-who are you? What do you want?"

"Cinder," I reply in a low voice.

"The boss? I don't know where she is or what she's doing. Sh-she pays me to live here and put a fake name on the lease. I don't know why. I swear," he says frantically.

"How many more in the building?" Ruby asks.

"I think six other apartments. But they're not all one person each. Some have more. I don't- I don't know the distribution."

"Thank you. You've been very helpful," Ruby tells him, before smacking him with the flat part of her scythe blade. He crumples, and we head to the next apartment. The two guys living in that one don't help us out much either. We knock them out like the first dude and continue on our way, both of us wondering if this hadn't been a wasted trip. Hopefully Yang and Blake are having better luck.

We go through the first six apartments, learning absolutely nothing in the process. By this point, I'm so frustrated that I'm tempted to just blast the door of the seventh in rather than unlocking it and sneaking in. Thinking of the teasing from Yang that would ensue if I did and she found out, I restrain myself. Like with all the previous apartments, the person or people inside don't hear us enter. We're not as stealthy as Blake; she would be able to get right up behind the occupants, but that sort of stealth isn't needed for the mission.

Ruby and I are about to start searching when a familiar voice makes us stop dead.


	9. Closing In

**Ruby**

Weiss and I charge into the last apartment, but stop dead when we hear a familiar voice.

"I want Team RWBY in front of me, _without_ their weapons," Cinder drawls from somewhere in the apartment. "And make sure they're alive. I have some _very_ special plans for them."

"I won't disappoint you, ma'am," someone replies.

"I hope not. I'd hate to have to... _replace_ you," Cinder tells the dude ominously. We hear a gulp as we face each other and nod. We quickly run in the direction the conversation came from, ready to give Cinder hell.

We're disappointed to find nothing more than a Faunus looking at a desktop computer with an attached webcam. He must have been having that conversation on a video call. Just my luck.

"Where is she?" I ask the Faunus, pointing Crescent Rose at him.

"Who?" he replies. "And how did you get in?"

"We have our ways," Weiss tells him. "And you know who."

"Cinder? She'll kill me if I tell you anything!"

"Tell us what we want to know and we'll take her down before she does anything to you," I promise. "We know she's in Atlas, we just want to know where."

"If you know she's there, why are you here?"

"We had intel suggesting she was in either Vacuo or Atlas. We didn't know which. We have two other Huntresses in Atlas now," Weiss explains. "Give us Cinder's location and this whole thing will be over in under half an hour."

"Why should I believe you?" he asks.

"Why _wouldn't_ you believe us?" I reply. "We're trustworthy."

"I've never met you, you break into my apartment and say you can take out my boss. Forgive me for having my doubts."

"What do you want in return for information? I can probably get it for you," Weiss tells him.

"Oh, now you're bribing me? Try bribing the other guys when they get here," the Faunus replies, pressing a button on his desk I didn't notice until then. I quickly knock him out as Weiss sits down at his computer.

"Keep the reinforcements off me, I'm gonna try and trace his last call," she tells me. I hear her typing away for several minutes before the bad guys show up. It ends up being a pretty routine fight, a few dudes with guns versus one girl with a gun-scythe the size same size she is.

I use my Semblance to get behind them and swing Crescent Rose in a wide arc, slashing open the backs of three of them before any of them know what happened. These guys crumple as the others turn round warily. One of them tries to shoot me, a shot easily deflected with the blade of my scythe. The bullet embeds itself in the wall as I return fire, blasting the dude several feet back in a shower of blood with my much higher caliber round. The three remaining enemies look at me in shock before unsheathing identical swords. I grin in amusement as the first guy tries to cut me. I hook my blade around his own before kicking his stomach, causing him to double over. The next two come at me at the same time, one high, one low. I swing my weapon perpendicular to the floor, using it almost like a staff to deflect both swords at once. I then hit one dude with the flat of my blade, knocking him to the floor. I smile again. This fight is already over; my enemies haven't realised that I'm toying with them. I could end it any time if I weren't having so much fun with them.

All three swordsmen spread out around me, surrounding me. I anticipate all three of their attacks and easily block everything, not even trying to hit back. Yet.

"Ruby! Why haven't you stopped them yet?" Weiss demands.

"Come on, Weiss!" I complain. "Can't I have a little fun on missions?"

"This is a game to you?" one of the swordsmen asks. "One wrong move and you're dead."

"Nope!" I taunt, growing bored of playing with them. I make a vertical incision in his chest, causing blood to spray everywhere. Turning Crescent Rose so the blade is parallel to the floor, I then spin and quickly finish off the other two.

"I figured out where she is," Weiss tells me as I finish my fight. "Atlas. We'll send the coordinates to Blake and Yang so they don't have to search for hours."

"Right," I reply, taking out my scroll and calling my sister.

"Did you find her?" Yang asks immediately after picking up.

"No, but Weiss hacked someone's computer and traced a video call back to her," I reply. "We're sending you the coordinates now. And be careful, we overheard that conversation and she apparently has special plans for all of us."

"Don't worry about us," Yang tells me. "We'll see you back in Vale."

"Good luck," I say as she hangs up. I then text her the coordinates as Weiss calls our pilot to come pick us up.

**Blake (one hour earlier)**

Yang looks at me apologetically as I finish talking to Weiss about the secret she shared with Ruby. Neither of us say anything as the kingdom of Atlas comes into view. It looks pretty much how I've always imagined: an enormous metropolis full of gleaming skyscrapers, the pinnacle of modern technology. From this distance, I can just barely make out anti-air cannons designed to automatically track and destroy aerial Grimm or hostile vehicles. I can also see what looks like an energy barrier, transparent and very different to the wall surrounding Vale.

"Blake, can we hot drop in?" Yang asks, almost pleadingly. "I haven't done that in ages."

"I suppose so. It's easier," I reply reluctantly. Yang beams as the pilot gets on the intercom.

"Where do you want dropped off?" he asks.

"We're hot dropping in," I reply. "Just find a building with a sturdy-looking roof."

"Sure thing." A few minutes later, the door at the back of the jet opens and the pilot wishes us luck. Yang jumps first, propelling herself downwards with Ember Celica, presumably for extra adrenaline. She lands in a roll as I follow suit, touching down lithely on my feet.

"Think you could teach someone who isn't a cat how to always land on her feet?" Yang asks as we head towards the door to the interior of the building. I punch her playfully in response. "Kidding," she says, pretending to be in pain. "Anyway, where do we begin?"

"No idea," I reply. "Ozpin didn't exactly give us anything to go on."

"We could just look for the evillest looking building. She'll be on the top floor," Yang suggests.

"I don't think supervillains work like that in real life, honey," I tell her. "Though it would be convenient," I add, pointing to an unmarked building made of reflective black glass.

"Fuck it, let's start there." After entering the building we landed on, it takes us a minute or so to find the elevator. We take it down to the ground floor and find that the city of Atlas is even more impressive at street level.

The buildings tower around us, making me feel small and insignificant. At the end of the block Yang and I are on, an Atlesian Knight stands guard on the street corner, presumably serving as law enforcement. The sidewalk is full of people going about their business: men in suits with briefcases, families, teenagers hanging out or shopping with their friends. Electronic billboards are everywhere, advertising a wide array of products.

"Uh, Blake?" Yang asks. "Where's the building?" I look around and see that the black structure we decided to start with is now hidden from view by other equally impressive skyscrapers.

"The jet flew in from the south and was facing north when we dropped out," I mutter to myself. "We must've faced south jumping out from the back... Door was on the left, building was on the right..."

"So, west?" Yang asks, hearing everything I'm saying.

"I think so," I reply. A short walk later, we find ourselves in front of the main door of the imposing black structure. Yang promptly struts in, demanding that a very startled receptionist tell her who runs the building.

"I- what?" the poor woman stutters.

"Who. Runs. The. Building?" Yang asks again, slowly.

"That's confidential," the receptionist replies. I notice her hand snaking to an alarm button on her desk, but I'm too late to stop her from pressing it.

"Blake, why do receptionists always make things difficult on our missions?" Yang asks, before slamming her fist into the face of the woman in question. I shrug and ready Gambol Shroud as the lobby fills with guys in unmarked black uniforms.

"Drop your weapons!" one of them commands. "Come quietly, no one gets hurt."

"Oh, this one doesn't _come quietly_ ," Yang smirks, gesturing at me before charging towards the nearest enemy. Before anyone can react, her target is embedded in the wall behind him from the force of her punch. His colleagues stare at Yang, dumbfounded, as she picks another enemy and brutally kicks him in the chest. I hear ribs shatter from the impact as the other guys are spurred into action. With the two dozen or so of them, most of whom are at least decently trained in combat, it takes a few minutes before my wife and I dispatch all of them.

The first few that attack me fall to surgically placed strikes from Gambol Shroud. I take them down with a combination of whacks to the side of the head and cuts through important muscles like the biceps and triceps. Either way, those guys are out of the fight.

Meanwhile, Yang is fighting half the guys at the same time, not even using Ember Celica as anything more than armour plating. She ducks and deflects every attack coming towards her, always countering with a devastating punch or kick of her own. However, she wisely leaves one guy so we can question him.

"Do you work for Cinder?" she demands, holding him up against the wall. When he doesn't answer, I aim my pistol at his left hand, knowing I could shoot him there if necessary and he wouldn't bleed out. He still doesn't respond, so Yang nods at me and I squeeze the trigger. For a second, no reaction other than a flinch. As blood begins leaking out of the wound, however, the guy starts yelling in pain. I take aim at his other hand as Yang asks again, "do you work for Cinder?"

The guy finally nods, tears of agony present on his face. "She here now?" He shrugs."You don't know? How can you not know if your boss is here?"

"She... She always moves..." the guy explains in between pained breaths. "If she's here, she'll be on the top floor."

"Yang, let him go," I tell the blonde. She drops the guy as I tell him to go to a hospital and reconsider his life choices.

"Didn't I tell you she'd be on the top floor of the evillest looking building?" my wife asks, smiling.

"That's if she's here," I reply seriously. "But yes, you did." In the interests of saving time, we decide to take the express elevator to the top floor of the building. It's occupied almost entirely by an office. Three walls are tinted glass, offering an amazing view of the Atlas skyline. A large mahogany desk sits facing the elevator, which from the inside of the office has its doors painted to look like mahogany as well. The fourth wall is lined with mahogany bookshelves. Unfortunately, there's nothing to suggest that Cinder has been here recently. I'm about to suggest looking through some of the books when Yang's scroll goes off.

After a hurried discussion with Ruby, the brawler's face lights up as she received coordinates pointing just outside of the city. It's time to take down Cinder.


	10. Dying Flames

**Yang**

"Is this the place?" Hearing Blake's voice, I recheck the coordinates Ruby sent me.

"If Ruby and Weiss' intel is good, yeah," I reply. The Faunus nods, and we survey the building in front of us. It's an old warehouse, in disrepair but not abandoned. According to Blake, she can hear the sounds of activity coming from inside, and not the normal stuff for a warehouse. Suspicious orders are being shouted and metal is clanging, as though a swordfight is taking place. I hear none of this with my human hearing, but I trust Blake to not make this sort of thing up.

"Entry point?" my wife asks.

"We could just go through the wall," I suggest, cocking Ember Celica. "Give ourselves the element of surprise."

" _Or,_ we could sneak in and not let them know we're there," the Faunus replies.

"You're no fun," I tell her. Loading up the data-finding program Ren wrote for Ruby and I, I access the building's schematics. "Two possible entry points. One in front, one round the back. Probably equally well-guarded. We're not splitting up."

"Why not?"

"Because that bitch could be anywhere in the building and she won't hesitate to kill you. We'll have to take her down together," I explain.

"Okay. Which door's closer? No point dragging this out."

"Back door. Should be about thirty yards that way," I reply, pointing, "and around the corner."

"Let's go." We cautiously head to the door, careful to stay out of sight of any of the windows. We make it to the door no problem, and Blake tries the handle. "Dammit," she mutters when she's unsuccessful.

"Locked?" I ask, hoping she'll let me break it down.

"Yeah. I'll try to pick it," Blake replies, pulling out a small kit I didn't know she had with her.

"Fuck that," I reply, drawing back my fist. I punch the door at full force, firing Ember Celica at the same time. The metal square is blasted off its hinges, revealing a short hallway and taking an unfortunate guard with it.

"What happened to 'not letting them know we're here'?" Blake asks, smiling in spite of herself.

"That would be boring," I explain. "They'd figure it out sooner or later anyway."

"Sooner, apparently," the Faunus tells me as her cat ears perk up. A moment later, I hear footsteps as more guys appear at the end of the hallway. I raise my hand and make a _come and get me_ gesture as the leader of the group signals for his men to stay put. An almost indiscernible movement of his eyes provokes me to look towards the floor between the group and Blake and I, where I notice a fine wire strung between the walls.

"Tripwire," I comment calmly. "Really? Fucker thinks _that_ _'_ _ll_ stop us?"

Blake looks at me, obviously impressed that I noticed it. "Come on, honey, let's deal with these guys," she tells me, drawing Gambol Shroud. I carefully step over the tripwire, not eager to find out what it's set to trigger. Immediately, the dudes facing me ready their weapons. I smile as I take the first swing, slamming the nearest guy's skull into the wall. I'm not sure which is more damaged, the building or the guy, as I duck a machete being swung at my head. An uppercut sends the attacker several inches into the air as I follow up with a roundhouse kick to his stomach. He crashes into another enemy as Blake joins the fray, both blades whirling.

As we finish off the grunts, another dude approaches us. He's dressed in elaborately woven but loose fitting robes and armed with a black sword. His blade glows with Dust as he smiles menacingly, revealing too-sharp canines. His black eyes glint with malice.

"Took you long enough, considering you're supposed to be Beacon's finest," he spits, gesturing at the unconscious bodies of those Blake and I defeated. "Let's see how good you _really_ are."

He swings his sword at me and I roll to the side. Electricity arcs from his blade, shocking me and making me realise he doesn't even need to touch us to be dangerous. As my hair frizzles stands on end from the current, Blake steps in and launches a rapid flurry of strikes, leaving clones and attacking from multiple directions with such speed she almost appears to be several people. Impossibly, the swordsman manages to deflect everything and uses his free hand to punch her in the gut. Anger at seeing someone hurt my kitten clouds my mind as I rise and run at the dude. Seeming to not even care, he sidesteps and swings at my head. I'm only just able to duck as he gets behind me and kicks me in the back, sending me sprawling.

Meanwhile, Blake recovers from the punch and gets to her feet, activating her pistol at the same time. She fires and our opponent turns, swinging his sword. Based on the sudden appearance of two holes in the ceiling, he sliced the bullet in half _in mid-air_ , leaving a dumbfounded expression on the faces of my wife and I.

"Come on, stop trying to hit me and _hit me_ ," he taunts, legs spread in a wide stance. I smile at the challenge and activate the long-range mode on Ember Celica. I then fire multiple blasts as I run towards him, using the smoke from the explosions to hide my angle of approach. At the last second, I slide between his legs and punch upwards, getting a sick sense of satisfaction as my fist crushes his naughty bits. Unfortunately, instead of doubling over like I expected, he reaches out and grabs my hair, throwing me to the floor. Blake uses the opportunity to shoot him in the chest, and this time he doesn't realise in time. Blood pours out of the wound as he staggers back, allowing me to get up.

He takes another swing at me, but much slower this time. I step inside the attack and punch his forearm, feeling the bones snap as he drops his sword. I kick it away as I punch again, this time making contact with the bullet wound. He howls in pain as I sweep his legs from under him, finishing with another punch to the chest as he's on the floor. His ribcage collapses under the impact and he lies still.

"Let's go," I tell Blake, heading deeper into the building. In the main storage area, we find a large group of grunts working on their swordsmanship. They're being instructed by a tall man in a black leather jacket, pacing up and down the room and giving pointers every now and then.

"He's probably a rogue Huntsman," Blake whispers.

"I'll take him," I reply. The Faunus nods indifferently, so I reload Ember Celica and yell, "hey, asshole! You ready for this?"

The instructor turns and looks at me in alarm. He's barely able to raise his own weapon, a kwan dao with no immediately evident special features, as I reach him. The fight is over in seconds as I took him completely by surprise. I look threateningly at the grunts as their teacher lies unconscious with his weapon snapped in two beside him. Wisely, but somewhat disappointingly, they all turn tail and run.

"Well done," a familiar voice drawls, accompanied by clapping. The sound makes my blood boil as Blake joins me at my side and I turn to see Cinder, walking slowly towards us. She's dressed the same way as always: a red dress with Dust woven into the fabric. Her orange eyes burn with fury as she looks at us, but the anger I see in them is nothing compared to what I feel. "But your assault ends here."

"That's correct," I reply. "Once we take you down, we won't have any reason to stay."

"You think you'll win?" Cinder asks in a mocking tone. "You are like David to my Goliath."

I say nothing as Blake whispers to me. Hearing the information she gives me, I smile as I tell Cinder, "don't get too excited. Goliath loses in the end."

"I'm surprised you knew that," Cinder replies, looking sincerely impressed.

"I didn't; Blake whispered it to me."

"Your honesty is commendable."

"Yep. That's how you know I'm not lying when I say I'm gonna end you today."

Cinder snarls in response, summoning a sword in each hand. I charge at her and a conflict of fist against blade takes place. I appear to have the upper hand, punching straight through her weapons and shattering them. However, a blast of fire sends me back as she summons two more swords.

Blake then tries her luck. Neither woman is able to land a hit on the other, both parrying strikes and trying to hit back almost too fast for the eye to see. In fact, if it weren't for Blake's shadow clones, she probably wouldn't have stood a chance against Cinder's skill. I don't understand how the bitch can be holding her own against either of us. We both have four more years of training since last time we fought her, while she rotted in a prison cell for the same period. It infuriates me to no end that the fight is still in progress.

Blake and I attack in tandem, knowing each other's styles well enough that no form of communication is required between us to know what the other is thinking. Every time she attacks and Cinder parries, I try to use the opening to land a solid hit that would win the duel, and vice versa. However, she constantly summons new weapons, sometimes mid-strike, making it impossible to adapt to her style of combat.

After several minutes of intense fighting, a fireball followed by a swift kick to my jaw take me by surprise and I'm knocked down for a few seconds. In that time, Cinder manages to cut Blake's arm, not so deep that it'll have long-term consequences but deep enough to hinder her now. She then knocks the katana out of the Faunus' right hand before grabbing that wrist and breaking it. Even from ten feet away, I hear the snap as Blake cries out in pain. Cinder follows up with a powerful kick straight to Blake's chest, sending her into a wall.

Several seconds later, my wife hasn't moved an inch. Fearing the worst, I stand up, feeling waves of rage wash over me. I'm vaguely aware of my hair catching fire as a red haze clouds my vision, obscuring everything but the motherfucker who dared to hurt Blake. With an inhuman yell, I charge forward, taking Cinder totally by surprise. She's unable to block my first punch, which shatters her nose and sends her flying, cracking the entire wall she collides with.

I rush over to where she's recovering her wits and punch again, feeling ribs break under the impact. More and more blood flies from the increasingly limp body as I continue to break Cinder, feeling strangely satisfied - no, feeling a sick sense of _enjoyment_ \- with every landed hit.

I pour every bit of rage I've ever felt for the woman into the relentless pounding, for the kidnapping of Blake in our first year at Beacon, the attack on Vale that left hundreds of people hurt or killed, the _intrusion on my fucking wedding_ , and now the fact that she may have killed the woman I love.

By the time I calm down and the red cloud in my vision disperses, what's left of Cinder is unrecognisable. Her dress is in tatters, her torso is completely deformed and her skull has collapsed entirely. There is no way she's alive, but for some reason I check for a pulse anyway. Predictably, I get nothing. Cinder is dead. _Fucking bitch deserves it_ , I tell myself, but part of me wonders if I'm actually okay after what happened. I actually _enjoyed_ beating her to a pulp. I can justify it to myself all I like, but truth be told, I killed another human being - in one of the most painful ways I could have - and _liked_ it. I make a mental note to talk to someone about that, but that's the last thing on my mind when I look at Blake.

She still hasn't moved, as far as I can tell. I rush over to her and am immensely relieved to find that she's breathing. However, her arm is still bleeding, not to mention the broken wrist and most likely fractured rib, maybe more than one. After calling our airship pilot and giving him our coordinates, rip off my sleeve and use it to bandage Blake's arm, wishing I could do something about the wrist and the ribs. They'll have to wait until we get back to Beacon.

"Hang in there, Blake," I whisper, planting a kiss on her forehead. Soon after, our airship lands outside. I carry my wife bridal style out to the ship and fasten her into a seat before going back for Gambol Shroud, which she dropped. The sight of Cinder's broken corpse makes me sick to my stomach as I remember what I did, so I grab Blake's weapon and leave as fast as I can. When I get back to the aircraft, she's awake.

"Hey," she says weakly. "Did... Did we win?"

"Yeah," I reply, tears of relief forming in my eyes. "She's dead."

"Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry about me," I tell her quietly. "You have a broken wrist, a fairly deep cut and some fractured ribs. Just relax. We'll get back to Beacon and patch you up."

"Okay." I take the seat to her left and buckle up, cradling her good hand for the duration of the trip. The pilot had the sense to call ahead about Blake's injuries, so a team of paramedics, as well as Ruby, Weiss, Ozpin and Glynda are standing waiting for us when we land. I help Blake out of the ship and onto the stretcher, not letting go of her hand as she's taken to the infirmary.

Wisely, no one asks me for a mission report or anything while the doctors patch Blake up, stitching her wound and putting her arm in a cast. When I'm allowed in to see her, I learn that she's been told to avoid any strenuous activity that could aggravate the rib. I have no problem looking after her until it heals, cooking, cleaning, all the rest of it, but it know Blake won't stand for it. She's too stubborn and independent for that. As it happens, there's another reason why she wants her injuries healed immediately. After making sure no one's around, she gestures at me to move in close.

Bringing her mouth to my ear, she whispers, "it's no fun if I only have one arm and can't move that much." She winks as I move away, leading me to wonder when her mind got so much like mine. I don't have long to ponder it, however, because our teammates, followed by Ozpin and Glynda enter the infirmary for a discussion.

"I presume your mission was a success?" the Headmaster asks, sipping from his mug.

"Yes sir. Cinder is... Dead," I reply.

"It would have been preferable if you brought her in alive," he tells me slowly. "But, I suppose I did give you permission to terminate her if necessary. I am trusting that you did this out of need and not desire?"

"... Yes, sir," I answer, not quite able to look him in the eyes.

"And Ms Belladonna, you were out cold for the final confrontation?" Glynda asks.

"I got knocked out while Yang and I were fighting Cinder together. When I woke up, I was in the airship and Yang announced that she had killed the target," Blake explains.

"I see," Ozpin declares.

"Do any of you know how to heal Blake faster?" I ask, almost desperately. "Some kind of Dust, glyph, anything?"

"I certainly know a spell that can heal most non-fatal injuries," Glynda replies.

"Do it, please," I request.

"It takes strenuous effort on the part of the user, often rendering them unconscious for a considerable period and isn't always successful," Glynda tells me. "It would be best to allow your partner to heal on her own, however difficult that may be for you."

"I could do it," Weiss chimes in. "I know the spell too."

"Weiss, I... I can't ask you to knock yourself out for my sake," Blake protests. "I'll be fine, really."

"Blake, you've rescued me on more occasions than I can count," Weiss reminds her. "And all I do in return is nag and complain. I could use some sleep anyway."

"We will allow you to decide the matter on your own," Ozpin announces, leaving the infirmary with Glynda.

"Are you sure, Weiss?" I ask warily.

"Do you not _want_ your wife up and running so you can... Well, do stuff?" she replies, blushing as she finishes her sentence.

"I'm just saying. Don't feel obliged to do this."

"Yeah, seriously, Weiss. I'll be fine in a few weeks," Blake tells her.

"Both of you, _shut up_ ," she demands in her usual bossy tone. "You guys are always _so willing_ to sacrifice yourselves to protect the rest of us, so why are you so opposed to me speeding up Blake's recovery?"

"She has a point, you two," Ruby agrees.

"Okay. Do it," Blake tells Weiss. The heiress raises her hand and a look of intense concentration forms on her face. A glyph fades into existence around Blake, so faint at first that it's almost entirely transparent. Over the course of thirty seconds, it becomes more opaque until it glows a brilliant white. Soon, there's a flash and Weiss collapses. Ruby catches her and eases her onto a chair as Blake stretches her entire body, not showing any signs of pain.

"What are you doing?" a nurse yells from somewhere, frantically rushing over to her.

"It's fine, my teammate healed me," Blake replied, smiling.

"Is that why she's unconscious?" the nurse asks, pointing to Weiss. Blake nods. "Right. Okay. Maybe we should take the cast off then."

"Maybe," Blake agrees, nodding.

Half an hour later, Blake and I enter our apartment and I remember the events that transpired last time we were there. The riot squads are gone, but the window is still shattered. Ignoring that, we head to bed for some much-needed rest. We realise how exhausted we are and don't even bother changing, or taking our clothes off for that matter, and embrace each other as we drift off to sleep.


	11. Lover's Comfort

**Yang**

When I wake up, my arms are aching, probably from all the punching I did the day before. Blake's already up. The sounds of the city are entering the apartment through the broken window, so I can't hear what she's up to.

I get off the bed and head into the kitchen, where I find my wife with a coffee mug in her hand. It's the one I got her as a joke birthday present in our second year at Beacon, with a picture of a grumpy cat printed on the side. The caption reads "hey! I'm on the mug I'm drinking from!" At the time, I figured it'd be funny because she's always so grumpy in the mornings. When she unwrapped it, she glared at me but couldn't suppress her smile for long. I then gave her her real present; a small yin yang necklace with crystals on it. She still wears it every day.

"Morning," she greets me, smiling.

"Hey, gorgeous," I reply, also smiling. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Best sleep I've had in a while, actually. You?"

"You could say it was… troubled, but I've had worse."

"Something wrong?" Blake asks, her voice suddenly full of concern.

"Yeah, I've been kinda fucked up since yesterday."

"Perfectly normal. You _did_ kill someone, after all. Can't have been easy," she tells me softly. "In fact, I'd be more worried if you _weren't_ feeling weird about it."

"It's not that I killed Cinder," I reply slowly. "Well, it is sorta."

"Then what's wrong?" We sit down together on the couch, and I find myself wishing the window wasn't broken.

"Blake, I didn't tell you the full story of what happened when you were unconscious. I didn't _need_ to kill her." I pause as she looks at me, no emotion showing. "When you hit the wall and didn't move, part of me thought you were dead. Rage took over me and I beat Cinder to a pulp. When her ribcage collapsed, I didn't stop punching. I continued to pound after her skull was dust and… I actually _enjoyed_ it."

"You enjoyed it?" she asks, sounding concerned but somehow not surprised.

"Yeah. Somehow, and it makes me sick to think of it, but it felt good to pound the life out of her."

"Yang," Blake starts quietly, putting her hand on my leg. "You thought I was dead. You were angry; you didn't have a clear head."

"Yeah, but still."

"Still nothing," she replied, still quietly but a tad forcefully. "I know you. If you went outside and tried to kill someone now, with no emotions clouding your mind, you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to do it, never mind like it."

"I guess you're right."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I would've murdered the bitch too, if I thought she'd killed you." In a weird way, that statement _does_ help. Blake's one of the most level-headed people I know and would _never_ insinuate that someone deserves to die; if _she_ feels as though she'd have done the same, I don't feel as bad about it.

"Thanks for the talk," I tell her, before pulling her in for a kiss. It's short, soft, but it conveys more emotion than some of our most heated make-out sessions. Somehow, it reassures me that she's not gonna look at me any differently because of what I just told her. "I'm going for a shower," I announce, standing up suddenly. "Oh, wanna call someone to replace the window?" I add.

"Sure. See you in a bit," Blake replies as I walk towards our bedroom. I leave my clothes in a heap as I enter the bathroom. Once in the shower, I stand there, doing nothing other than thinking while hot water runs down my naked form.

After a few minutes, I decide to actually wash my hair and body. When that's done, I close my eyes and relax, trying to clear my head. It works, and I enjoy a brief moment of peace before a sudden chill behind me jolts me back to reality.

"Mind if I join?" Blake's voice asks, and I hear the door close. I feel the onyx-haired Faunus' hands run up and down my body, feeling my curves and caressing my breasts. Her hand comes to rest on my right nipple as she begins kissing my neck, and I moan as her lips find just the right spot. She takes my nipple between her thumb and forefinger and starts rolling it around, occasionally pulling on it.

I turn around and bring my lips crashing down on her own as my hand makes its way to the back of her head to pull her close. She pushes her tongue into my mouth and wrestles with my own, vying for dominance of the kiss. I move my other hand slowly up her stomach until it reaches her smaller breasts, where I begin massaging the soft mounds. She moves her lips back down to my neck and starts kissing again, occasionally leaving soft nips with her teeth. Her head then moves even lower, and her mouth latches onto my left nipple. She swirls her tongue around the hardening bud before beginning to suck on it.

I moan again as her hand finds my other nipple and she starts pinching it. Her other hand traces a slow line down my stomach and comes to rest just above my mound. I try to push her hand down further, to the spot begging to be touched, but she resists. For good measure, she bit the nipple she'd been sucking. I flinch a little at the unexpected pain as her hand finally starts moving again, even slower this time.

Despite the pleasure on my chest, it feels like an eternity until Blake brushes my clit with her finger. I shudder at the pleasure, but she moves her hand away. I groan in frustration, prompting her to remove her mouth from my breast and look at me questioningly.

"Is something the matter, babe?" she asks with a teasing smile on her face. By this point, my pussy is practically aching with arousal and I'm tempted to pleasure myself, but I know Blake has something in mind.

"No," I reply.

"Good." She continues sucking on my nipple and brushes my clit a few more times, never lingering more than a second and never giving more than a faint touch. After what feels like hours, I feel her finger at my slick entrance, the very tip of the digit almost inside me. "Someone's eager," Blake observes. Without warning, she suddenly thrusts her finger into me, curling it to hit my G-spot. My legs go weak at the intrusion as she very slowly moves her finger in and out. It feels amazing, but after all the teasing I need _more_.

"Faster," I tell Blake quietly.

"What was that?" she replies, grinning mischievously.

"Faster," I repeat, louder this time.

"You want me to go faster?" she asks as she starts rubbing my clit with her thumb.

"Yes…" I gasp at the contact.

"Beg," she tells me simply, pulling her finger out of me and bringing her thumb to a halt.

"Excuse me?" I ask. Yang Xiao Long does not _beg_ , even when the most beautiful Faunus on Remnant tells me to.

"You heard me," she replies, slowly sliding two fingers into me as she starts circling my clit with her thumb again.

"No." She continues her ministrations agonisingly slowly. I need release, but there's no way she'll make me beg for it.

"Do you _want_ to come?" she asks, adding a third finger but not changing the speed. She's hitting my G-spot with every movement, but still going far too slowly for my liking.

"Yes…"

"So beg." She hasn't sped up or slowed down at this point, and I know it's a battle of will. Unfortunately, I also know she's more patient than me.

"Please…" I mutter hesitantly.

"Speak up, honey."

"Please, Blake…" I repeat. "Make me come."

"Since you asked so nicely," she tells me, looking into my eyes. She starts pumping her hand considerably faster and I moan in pleasure. I lean against the shower wall as my orgasm builds. A fourth finger enters me as Blake's thumb continues rubbing my clit. I soon cry out as a dam breaks inside me and I ride the waves of pleasure, bucking against Blake's hand.

She removes her sticky fingers as I recover, breathing heavily. When I open my eyes, the Faunus is licking her hand clean. I take her hand into my mouth and suck what's left of my juices off it, enjoying the taste of myself.

"Wanna go somewhere more comfortable?" I ask, turning off the water and opening the door. We exit the shower and hurriedly dry each other off. Blake leaves the bathroom first and my eyes follow the swaying of her ass as she walks. She turns around when she reaches the bed and I find myself staring at her shaven mound instead.

I walk towards her and push her onto the bed, straddling her as I kiss her. I slip my tongue into her mouth and explore the moist cavern while I pin her wrists above her head. I soon begin laying a trail of gentle kisses down her body until I reach her pussy. It glistens with arousal as I stare at it, breathing in the scent of her musk.

As much as I want to dive right in, I decide to pay her back for the teasing earlier and begin kissing her inner thighs instead. After a few seconds, I take a long, slow lick along her slit, tasting her wetness. It's sweet, as usual, and I hungrily begin eating her out.

Spreading her outer lips with my fingers, I flick my tongue over her clit, eliciting a quiet moan. I slip a finger from my other hand into her as I start swirling my tongue around Blake's swollen bud. She moans louder and twitches when my finger hits her G-spot.

Adding a second finger and sliding both in and out, I wrap my lips around her clit and begin sucking on it. I remove my fingers and start licking Blake's clit again before moving down and placing my tongue over her entrance. I circle it briefly before pushing my tongue into her, tasting the inside of her pussy. I move my tongue in and out as she continues to moan and start rubbing her clit with my thumb.

"Fuck, Yang…" she mutters as I move my tongue back up to her clit and push two fingers back into her. I suck on the bud as I start pumping in and out, curling my fingers with every thrust. She gets louder as I speed up and start sucking harder.

After thirty seconds of this, Blake screams in pleasure as her back arches. Her walls contract around my fingers as she drenches my face in fluids. I slowly pull my fingers out as she begins taking irregular gasps of air and give a few last licks over her whole pussy. I then kiss her, allowing her to taste herself on my tongue. She soon flips me over and starts licking all her juices off my face.

"Lap it up, kitten," I tease, before she forces her tongue into my mouth to shut me up. Granted, making out is better than talking. After biting on my lower lip, she pulls away and tells me to sit up.

"Spread your legs," she orders when I comply. I do so, and she copies me. She then gets between my legs, placing hers on either side of my body. I realise what she's doing as her pussy meets my own and she starts grinding.

I throw my head back in pleasure as her clit rubs against my own, and I wonder how we never thought of doing this sooner. Meanwhile, Blake's moaning just as loudly as I am. She reaches over and starts squeezing my tit, adding to the pleasure I'm feeling. I grab the back of her head and pull her towards me so I can kiss her as our pussies continue to rub together.

We cry out simultaneously as we both climax and collapse sideways, just lying there as we recover. We kiss gently and our hands roam as we bask in the afterglow of multiple orgasms.

**Elsewhere…**

A tall man stands on the catwalk overlooking the large main room of the complex. He observes the sight before him, marvelling at the technology he helped develop. Workers swarm the area, prepping various pieces of equipment for a dozen different purposes. The arsenal presented to the man would make the Atlesian military officials cower in fear, should it be used against them. _And it will_ , he thinks. _Everything will burn_.

His coat trails behind him as he heads to a different room. He passes employees in the hallway, none of whom dare make eye contact. The brim of his hat, tilted low over his face, hides the most terrifying part of his person: eyes blacker than a Beowolf's fur. There is no other colour; the whites, irises and pupils blend seamlessly together to create an intense stare ordinary people are petrified by.

The man reaches his destination; a room full of cages, oversized test tubes and computers. Lab technicians exit in a hurry as the man surveys the fruits of his scientific labours. Grimm, rendered unrecognisable by extensive experimentation, stare back at him. _Those Huntsman will never know what hit them_ , he thinks. His lips part in a twisted smile, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth.


	12. Cards on the Table

**Yang**

Blake and I lie there quietly, the silence only broken by the cacophony coming in through the smashed window. The troubles of Vale or any of the other kingdoms are out of both of our minds as we hear our front door slamming open and Weiss' voice calling out in its bossy tone.

"Yang! Blake! You need to check the news," she announces from the hallway. I only then realise that the bedroom door is wide open and the white-haired girl could walk past and see both of our naked bodies on full display, still entwined. I then hear her sniff the air, and she adds, "also, close your door and get dressed."

I sigh and start looking through my drawers for something to wear as Blake closes the door. It's not long before we're both fully clothed and we meet Weiss in the living room. She has the TV on, with Lisa Lavender's grave face being displayed as she reads a report.

" _Tragedy struck Menagerie today as dozens of Grimm were unleashed upon the citizens. Details of the attack are unclear, as the few Huntsmen in the region were overwhelmed quickly by the abnormally powerful creatures. There were no survivors, and international officials claim the attack was one of terror. The Atlesian council has pledged to devote as much of its significant military power as is necessary to root out the culprits of what is the worst terror attack in human history._ "

Blake and I are stunned into silence as the report is concluded. Aside from the fact that an entire population has been massacred, there's a deeper problem with this attack. Menagerie had a majority population of Faunus. If other Faunus see this as a hate crime against their people, there could be another Faunus War. As angry as I am at whoever did this, I have to give them credit for their tactical thinking.

"Does anyone have any leads?" Blake asks. Weiss shakes her head gravely. "So what happens now?"

"We don't know. No one knows," Weiss replies quietly. She _hates_ not knowing. "We have nothing to go on, no one to blame for this."

"We can't just sit here," I point out. "Any of the kingdoms could be next. It's only a matter of time before these bastards strike again."

"I know, Yang." Suddenly, my scroll goes off from somewhere in the apartment. When I locate it, I discover that Raven is calling.

"Raven, do you know something?" I ask frantically. It still feels weird for me to call her _mom_.

"Yang, you and your team need to get to Beacon. Now," she replies. "Ozpin doesn't think it's safe to talk unless it's in person."

"Okay, we'll see you soon." I hang up, and turn to Blake and Weiss. "Apparently we need to go to Beacon. I'm assuming Raven's there, and obviously Ozpin too," I tell them. "Hey, where's Ruby?"

"Well, I was going to talk to you about her, but I heard about the attack just before I left and figured it was more important," Weiss tells me.

"Weiss? Is my sister okay?"

"Yes, Yang, she's fine. It's not really important right now. Just call her and tell her to meet us at Beacon." I frown but do as I'm told, making a mental note to find out what's going on later.

Half an hour later, Blake, Weiss and I are in front of Ozpin's office. Without knocking, I march in and see the Headmaster seated at his desk, while Ruby, Raven, Taiyang, Qrow and Glynda stand around him. I notice Weiss stiffen ever so slightly at the sight of my sister, but I say nothing.

"Thank you for coming," Ozpin greets us, standing up. "I presume you heard about what happened today?"

"Yes, sir," I reply. "It started off such a great day, too…" Blake elbows me to shut me up.

"Are there any leads?" Weiss asks. "We don't want to blunder around in the dark."

"Right you are, Miss Schnee," Raven replies. "Raven Branwen, by the way. Yang's mother," she adds. "Anyway, we can say without question that this was the work of the organisation I've been trying unsuccessfully to take down for over two decades. However, this doesn't help us in any way. It gives us nothing to go on."

"And you couldn't have just told me earlier, 'we haven't a damned clue'?" I demand. "You drag me out here to tell me that?"

"Yang, calm down," Blake tells me softly, laying her hand on my arm. "I'm sure someone in this room has more to say."

"Yeah, probably. Sorry," I mutter abashedly.

"Ms. Belladonna is correct," Ozpin tells us. "This information wasn't revealed to the public, but some graffiti was found on what was left of the Menagerie town hall. 'Come and get us, Branwen'. It would seem someone is issuing a direct challenge to either your mother or your uncle, Yang."

"What does that tell us?" Ruby asks.

"It tells us that someone in the organisation knows Qrow or Raven personally," Glynda explains. "Either way, it means they know we are onto them."

"If they're talking to me, I'm impressed," Raven announces. "I've used countless aliases on my mission to take these people down. If they have my real name, it couldn't have been a cakewalk to get it."

"It's a problem if it's aimed at me," Qrow points out. "I've had hundreds of students at Signal. Any of them could be feeding information or working for our enemies."

"Raven, how many people do you know of who know your real name?" I ask.

"Everyone in this room. General Ironwood. The scientist who helped with some of the more advanced functions of my weapon," Raven counts. "That's everyone I've told."

"Where's this scientist now?" Taiyang asks.

"Haven't spoken to him in years," Raven tells him. "He was brilliant though. Did stuff with Dust I'd never seen before and haven't seen since."

"Is it possible he could be working with the enemy?" Ozpin asks.

"I can't say," Raven admits. "He _was_ always troubled when I knew him."

"Wait, didn't the report say something about the Grimm being abnormally powerful?" I ask.

"Yes. Before we lost contact with the teams in the region, they were telling me about how difficult the Grimm were to kill," Ozpin answers. "They were expecting few civilian casualties, given the number of targets, but the Grimm were shrugging off gunfire. What would normally have been mortal strikes from blades bounced off or only pierced the skin slightly. From what I understand, the Huntsmen's weapons proved almost ineffective, leading to the massacre which occurred."

"Raven, did your scientist buddy ever do Grimm experimentation?" Qrow asks slowly.

"Not that I know of, but he did often talk about how great it would be if we could control the things, maybe enhance them beyond their natural powers."

"It would seem he has followed through with that thought," Glynda announces gravely. "We can only hope there is a weakness."

"Anything else?" Ruby asks.

"Yes, actually," Ozpin replies. "Atlesian military officials have reported that their thermal scanners have picked up a cold spot in the desert."

"But Weiss is standing right here," I point out, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yang? Not the time for jokes," Blake tells me, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Define 'cold spot'," Weiss demands.

"An area in the desert which has a much lower temperature than the area around it. Satellite scanning reveals nothing on the surface," Ozpin explains.

"So they've got an underground base and they're keeping it cool?" Qrow suggests.

"It'd make sense," Ruby replies. "If anyone stumbled on it by accident, they'd probably be half-dead from thirst or something."

"Besides, even if we were to mount an assault, they'd see us coming miles off," Taiyang adds.

"So what do we do?" I ask, eager to take action.

"Team RWBY will stay alert, ready to safeguard Vale if necessary. I will instruct Teams JNPR and CFVY to remain here as well," Ozpin replies. "Raven will try to track down her old scientist acquaintance. Qrow, Taiyang, you two will scout the ruins of Menagerie, see if anything else can be found."

"We're just gonna wait?" I ask, disappointed.

"We need you here, Yang. We can't send you out anywhere because you'll be no use if the kingdom is attacked," Glynda tells me. "But for now, relax, as long as you remain vigilant. Trust no one and keep your weapons on you at all times."

"There is nothing more that can be done for now," Ozpin announces. "Team RWBY, you are dismissed."

The four of leave the office and Weiss rushes off on her own somewhere. Ruby dejectedly follows Blake and I out of the school, leading me to wonder just what is going on between the other half of the team.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" I ask, hoping she'll give me something to go on.

"Yeah," she replies unconvincingly.

"Anything happening between you and Weiss?"

"No, Yang. Everything's fine," she snaps, walking away briskly.

"She's not usually that touchy," Blake observes.

"Yeah. Something weird is happening," I reply. "Still, I doubt either of them are gonna say anything. One's too stubborn, one wouldn't want to worry us."

"Anyway, what do you want to do?"

"Not much we _can_ do, is there?" I point out.

"True. But we could just, I don't know, hang out, train?" Blake suggests.

"Change the sheets, fix the window?"

"Yes, they'll need changing," she replies. "Come on, let's go home." She takes my hand and we head towards our apartment.

"At this point, why do we even bother changing them?" I ask. "It seems like we could save a lot of money if we just washed them, say, once every two weeks regardless of what we've been up to."

"Yang, you've had some pretty bad ideas in the past, but that takes the crown," Blake tells me, shaking her head in disbelief.

"What? We could," I protest. "I don't see a problem." Truthfully, I don't actually think my suggestion is a good one, nor am I seriously proposing it. I just want to wind Blake up.

"The smell, for one," she points out. "The money we save on detergent would just go to air freshener."

"I know, I'm fucking with you," I admit, smiling.

"Good. I thought you were serious."

"I'm not _that_ dumb," I reply.

"How dumb are you?" she teases.

"Dumb enough to not hide all your clothes so I can always admire that perfect body you have," I tell her seductively.

"How long do you think you could keep my clothes hidden from me?" she asks, blushing.

"Honestly? No idea. If it makes you feel any better, though, I'd be naked with you. Until we had to go out, that is."

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Blake sighs. Banter like this continues until we get home, at which point the ebony-haired girl announces that she wants to be left alone to read. Not seeing anything better to do, I play some video games, ignoring the draft coming in from the window and trying not to think about everything that's happening.

**Elsewhere…**

The black-eyed man licks his lips, relishing in the taste of success. The experiments carried out on the Grimm were successful. They are under his complete control and are virtually unstoppable. All that's left is to test the new weaponry…


	13. A Chance Encounter

**Weiss**

Being in a room with Ruby for that discussion didn't do wonders for my mindset. Lately... I don't know, she's been getting on my nerves far more than usual. In the four years we've been together, we've had our ups and downs, sure, but I always figured that those were normal. But now...

First off, there's the matter of the database hack she decided not to tell me about. Truthfully, I don't care that it's illegal. My father has done far worse things. But the fact that she just assumed I wouldn't approve and kept it a secret? I actually feel hurt over that. And then, when I found out and called her out on it, she had the audacity to snap back at me? I just don't see the problem with asking why my partner and girlfriend of four years is keeping secrets from me.

On the way back to Vale, she didn't stop talking. Normally I'd be glad to have a conversation with her, but on that occasion I wanted to rest and she wouldn't shut up. I snapped and told her to be quiet, and tears sprung up in her eyes. Alarmingly, I didn't care. I don't know if it's the stress that's causing this or what, but whatever's been going on is definitely straining our relationship. Truth be told, I'm starting to think we might not work out, even after all we've been through together...

Regardless, I might have to suck it up and work with her. These people we're up against got really bold, really fast. There's no telling what they might do next. I just hope we can track them down and stop them soon. If not, a lot of people are going to die and everything we've done will have been in vain. We can't let that happen.

**Ruby**

Weiss has been acting really weird lately. She's been getting mad way more easily, and not her normal oh Ruby, why are you so annoying yet so cute at the same time mad. She's been pissed. Like, really angry at everything. Since our mission in Vacuo, things just... haven't been the same between us. I'm actually scared one of us is gonna do something we're both gonna regret at some point. 

This situation couldn't have come up at a worse time, either! Everyone is tense, an attack could happen at any minute and we have no idea where our enemies are! The team dynamic is gonna go to crap if this isn't sorted out soon.

The problem is that I don't know how to fix it. I don't even know what's going on! I don't know if I've done anything I should apologise for, and Weiss is too proud to admit it if she's the source of whatever this is. I can't even ask Yang for help, because I don't know what to tell her. This whole thing is just...

Rather than thinking about it, I decide to experiment with new ammo types for Crescent Rose. I figure if I'm gonna be up against abnormally powerful Grimm, my regular bullets might not cut it. I head to a reputable weapon store, hoping they'll have Dust rounds of the right caliber for Crescent Rose, or at least that I'll be able to have some made. I'm too lazy to bother trying to get Dust quantities right for bullets, so I prefer to have professionals do that for me. As long as their products don't harm my baby, but that goes without saying.

When I arrive, the store is surprisingly empty. Like a five-year-old in a candy store, I walk around, looking at the merchandise. I don't drool or anything, but I let myself be transfixed by some of the more innovative weapon designs. Looking at this stuff takes my mind off my current problems, giving me some much-needed stress relief without actually having to do very much.

Eventually, though, I get back on task and make my way over to the ammunition section. After a fair bit of perusing, I manage to find Dust rounds of the right caliber, but it's not a quick procedure. Deciding to start with just five rounds of each type, enough for experimentation in the Emerald Forest but not so many that I'll be wasting money, I gather some bullets and head for the checkout.

After paying for my rounds, I hurry out to the forest to test them out. Hopefully I'll find Grimm easily enough, but I'll settle for aiming at trees if I have to. I load the lightning Dust rounds into Crescent Rose as I begin searching.   
Happily, I soon find a pack of Beowolves milling about. I stay out of sight as I take aim at what looks like the alpha, squeezing the trigger when it's between my sights. As the bullet tears into its flesh, its whole body shudders with electricity. More lightning bolts arc out of it, electrocuting other nearby Grimm. The only one that actually dies is the one I shot, but the smell of sizzling fur fills the air as I fire another round. The second shot has the same effect as the first, so I decide to switch to my ice rounds.

This time, the Beowolf I target finds itself weighed down by a block of ice that suddenly appears. The effect is actually pretty much the same as when I fire through Weiss' ice glyphs, except I'm not depending on someone else to make it happen.   
Soon, every surviving member of the pack recovers from the literal shock of my lightning rounds and surrounds me. Swinging Crescent Rose in a wide circle, I easily slice clean through the bodies of three of them before rolling through the gap created by the bodies falling to avoid a claw swipe from my left. I make a tactical retreat and load a magazine of flame Dust rounds, firing one at the nearest Grimm. It catches fire immediately, the inferno rushing outwards from the bullet wound to consume its entire body. It's not long before it's completely incinerated, and the remaining pack members turn tail and run. These new rounds were well worth the relatively high cost, and I consider making a bigger investment.

Suddenly, though, a yell of fear and the sound of a tree falling catch my attention. I run towards the noise and find a group of Beacon students facing an Ursa. At least, it has the shape of an Ursa. But it's the size of a Deathstalker, its eyes are a deeper shade of crimson than most Grimm and its plate armour, which covers more of its body than it should, is streaked with black. Frost is forming on the ground around its paws, which appear to be tipped with claws made of ice. As I stare at it, dumbfounded, its colossal mouth opens and a gout of flame is released, torching the grass in front of it as the students scatter.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" one of them yells.

"I don't know! Let's kill it!" another answers.

"You. I like you," I tell him, aiming Crescent Rose at the Grimm's eye. I fire, but its head jerks to the left, far faster than it has any right to move.

"Guys, is that..." the student I spoke to asks. Before anyone answers, I charge the Grimm and try to open its flank, but my blade only gets about an inch into its flesh and gets stuck there. The Grimm turns abruptly, ripping my scythe out of my hands as I slowly step back in shock.

"Yes, it's Ruby Rose, no she's not a terrorist, yes, we need to help her!" the first student yells.

"All right. Guys, let's make a plan," one of the students who hasn't spoken before says.

"Distract it while I get my baby," I order the group, rolling sideways to avoid an icicle claw.

"Your baby?" one of them asks in confusion.

"The scythe, dammit!" I'm now dodging strikes every second as I wait for the distraction I need. It comes in the form of a loud explosion, which makes the Grimm stumble. It turns around, with Crescent Rose still sticking out of its side. I grab the scythe and use my legs to push off the creature's body, intending to pull my weapon free. It comes out suddenly and I drop to the ground as I hear a scream of pain, followed by a yell of concern. Hoping the Grimm's underbelly has less armour, I use a flame round to set fire to the grass beneath it as I check on the students. One of them is clutching a wound on his leg, his crossbow lying discarded beside him. The skin around the cut is blackened, as though frostbitten, and the blood appears to have frozen. So, looking on the bright side, the kid isn't technically bleeding. It does confirm my suspicion that the Grimm's claws are made of ice, or at least very cold.

Speaking of the Grimm, it's now stomping around wildly, trying to escape or extinguish the flames underneath it. I shoot it a few more times, but my bullets bounce off harmlessly and only scorch its armour plating. It doesn't appear to be affected by gunfire, and its hide is too think for blades. As the last of the flames die down, I'm struck by an idea.

"Do you guys still have the rocket-powered lockers?" I ask.

"Yeah," a student replies. "They upgraded them the year after you graduated. They're even faster now. Sturdier, too."

"Good."

"Why?"

"We're gonna pin that thing down where it is now, and one of you is gonna program your locker to target its position," I explain, switching back to my ice rounds.

"We can't get that precise," someone complains. "We don't know the exact coordinates."

"So someone's gonna lose a Scroll," I tell them. "Program your locker to lock onto your Scroll's position and throw it under the thing. If the school doesn't replace it for you, I'll talk to Ozpin."

"All right," the wounded student agrees. "I can't move, so I'll do it. You guys keep it in place."

A few well-placed shots later and the Grimm is frozen to the ground, all four paws held in place by blocks of ice. I doubt it'll hold it for long though, so I switch to my lightning rounds and fire at exposed flesh. The creature's fur is sizzling when a Scroll passes across my vision, landing underneath it. After a few seconds, a whooshing sound makes me look up. A locker is flying across the forest, its path taking it straight towards the clearing we're in.

"Brace yourselves," I yell. A split second later, there's a crunching noise and a splatter, and the ground shakes as the locker punches straight through the Grimm's body. It shudders, then I watch the light in its eyes grow dim. I use my Scroll to snap a picture of the corpse to show Ozpin, Goodwitch and the others later. "Little unorthodox, but, it worked," I say.

"We would've been dead without you," the first student I talked to said. "Thank you."

"We wouldn't've killed it without your friend's locker, so..." I point out. "By the way... Why were you so convinced the terrorist nothing isn't true?" I ask the kid who mentioned it. "We haven't met, have we?"

"Once, briefly," he says, much to my surprise. "You probably don't remember it. During the attack four years ago, an Ursa had my family and I trapped in our car. You killed it and saved us. I've kind of admired you since then, and you actually motivated me to work harder than ever in my training. You're one of the reasons I came to Beacon. From everything I've heard about you, I knew it had to be a lie."

"Well, I'm glad to have been of service," I tell him. "Anyway, gotta go. Important Huntress-y stuff. Top secret. Get him some help," I add, pointing at the wounded student.

With that, I run back into the forest and text Yang to tell her I'm coming over. I consider informing Weiss, but decide I'd rather not deal with her right now. I'm on high alert as I run through the city to Blake and Yang's apartment, only relaxing when I reach their door. My sister answers almost immediately after I knock, concern written on her face. Clearly, the tone of my message earlier worried her.

"Ruby? Is everything okay?" Blake asks, just as concerned as Yang. I'm about to begin recounting my adventure in the Emerald Forest when a massive explosion goes off somewhere in the city, followed by the emergency siren.

"It can wait," I announce, running to the still-broken panoramic window. The centre of the city is engulfed in flame, columns of smoke rising into the sky. Pretty shitty for everyone involved, but, typical of Team RWBY's luck, it gets worse. As I wait for Blake and Yang to get their weapons in case there's an actual fight downtown, a flock of Nevermores flies in from the direction of the Emerald Forest. Most of them seem normal, but one of them is so big it shouldn't even be able to fly. It reminds me of the Ursa I fought, and I wonder how the hell to take it down.

"The fuck is that thing?" Yang asks. "Looks like a B-movie monster."

"Never mind that, let's just go!" I yell. Blake, Yang and I dive out of the window and sprint downtown, yelling at people to get out of our way. Within minutes, we arrive, and a tendril of fear makes its way into my heart.

The centre of Vale looks like a dystopia. Fires rage everywhere, the ground is littered with corpses and soaked with blood, smoke makes it hard to see anything, and in the middle of it all is the worst thing I've seen in my career. A group of Grimm is emerging from a hole in the street, around two dozen. There's more giant, mutated Ursai, some giant Beowolves and a giant Deathstalker. On top of that, the Grimm are accompanied by uniformed men who seem to be acting as trainers, directing their attacks while strutting among them fearlessly. Maybe I should've had Weiss meet us, I think. Too late now.

"Come to die, Huntresses?" one of the trainers asks.

"It's entirely possible that that outcome will occur," I say to my teammates. "But let's go down fighting."

I square my jaw and stare at the enemy, silently daring them to come at me. Some of the regular Beowolves rush forward, and what little semblance of order that's left vanishes. Apparently Armageddon has come early, I tell myself. As the Beowolves reach me, I prepare for what will literally be the fight of a lifetime. 


	14. Some Startling Revelations

**Yang**

            "Ruby, what's the plan?"  My words come just after I had to roll sideways to avoid the Deathstalker's stinger. I fire some long-range blasts at its face and am disappointed to notice it didn't seem to feel their effects.

            "Short version?" Ruby replies, cleaving through the torso of a regular Beowolf. "Don't die."

            "Really specific, there," I tell her, once more evading the stinger before slamming my fist into the face of a mutated Ursa. This clearly doesn't make it happy, but unfortunately it does cause the Ursa to release a gout of flame from its mouth. "Holy shit!" I yell, jumping backwards. I escape mostly unscathed, mainly due to my immunity to fire, but my left boot is melted by the heat. "You bitch," I tell the Ursa. The cocking of its head in response to my voice is almost comical, but I'm more concerned with the idea forming in my head. Truthfully, it's an awful idea, and incredibly dangerous, but I figure it might work.

            "Is anyone gonna call backup?" Blake asks.

            "If you have the luxury of using your scroll right now," Ruby replies, now locked in combat with a mutated Beowolf, "go ahead!"

            "The emergency siren and plumes of smoke should be a pretty big tipoff, though," I point out. The Ursa I'm fighting swipes its ice-tipped claw at me, so I sidestep and grab its arm before bending it too far in the wrong direction. As it howls in pain, I grab a flame Dust shell out of my pocket and prepare to throw it. As soon as I see embers rising in the back of its throat, I toss the shell. The flames sprout right as the Dust lands in the beast's mouth, causing a large explosion. When the smoke clears, the freshly-decapitated Ursa lies at my feet, thankfully still. "They die if you can make their heads explode," I helpfully announce to my teammates.

            "And if I cave them in?" a new voice behind me asks. "Of course, my grenade launcher _could_ blow them up, but smashing is just so much more fun, isn't it?" Nora adds, rather quickly. She runs past me and swings Magnhild, in hammer form, into the face of the Deathstalker. It recoils at the impact before trying to grab Nora with its claws.

            "Nice of you to _swing_ by," I tell her, firing at the Deathstalker's stinger.

            "Apparently being married hasn't improved your sense of humour," Jaune says, joining Nora, Blake, Ruby and I on the battlefield. "If we don't make it out of this, no puns in the afterlife."

            "Can we focus on the situation at hand?" Pyrrha asks. I'm pleased to note that all of Team JNPR has arrived, though Ren hasn't spoken yet.

            "No, please, continue this banter," one of the Grimm trainers says. I snap my head round to face him so fast I nearly give myself whiplash. "It'll be all the more amusing when you don't notice each other's deaths."

            "Not gonna happen, buddy," I tell him. "Call this thing off and _maybe_ we'll be lenient." Rather than waiting for a reply, I continue fighting. Unfortunately, the remaining Ursai don't seem to want to breathe any fire, so I can't figure out how to take them down.

            "Any ideas?" Jaune yells, narrowly avoiding the claws of a Beowolf. Suddenly, I'm struck with inspiration.

            "Cover me," I tell Pyrrha, who happens to be fighting a mutated Beowolf three feet to my left. She nods and I dive behind a nearby car, pulling out my scroll as I land. I quickly go through my contact list, looking for the person I think will be of huge help in my current situation, and call out triumphantly when I find Raven's name. I press the "call" button, hoping almost against hope she's not busy, but my scroll informs me that "the person you are a calling cannot be reached at this time. Please try again later." " _Fuck_!" I yell. Putting the device back in my pocket, I get out from my hiding spot to rejoin the battle.

            I'm about to charge at an Ursa when an odd glint on a rooftop a few blocks down the street catches my eye. I pause, waiting to see if my vision is playing tricks on me. I spot it again, and just barely have time to think it might be a sniper before I see a flash and know exactly what I'm looking at.

            I feel the bullet tear into my right shoulder before I hear it, but it doesn't hurt right away. _Did I just get shot?_ I wonder. _Why didn't my Aura stop it?_ Suddenly, the pain comes all at once and I cry out, just barely registering Pyrrha's yell of "sniper!"

            With my good arm, I fire a blast in the shooter's direction while my friends dive into cover and my wife runs to my side. She drags me down a side street, away from the Grimm and the shooter's line of sight, and begins inspecting my shoulder.

            "How?" Blake asks, voice full of concern. "Was your Aura activated?"

            "Of course," I reply, teeth gritted from the pain.

            "I'll go after him," she tells me. "You call for backup and get yourself to an emergency room. You're no good to anyone like that."

            "I can kick ass with one arm, you know," I say, secretly agreeing with her.

            "I don't care." She sets her jaw in a way that tells me not to argue. She then kisses me and scales the nearest building, presumably to chase the sniper. I start heading to Vale General Hospital while getting out my scroll to contact anyone who might be able to help, though I have trouble assuring myself that a victory is actually possible here. As I walk, I try to use my Aura to close my wound, or at least slow the bleeding, but I find that I can't. If anything, it's speeding up.

            After several blocks, and only being able to think of Weiss to call, I begin to feel woozy. Chalking it up to the blood loss, I decide to put pressure on the wound with my good hand. I grit my teeth again and continue walking, but the wooziness only increases. I figure I'm about ten minutes away from the hospital when I get so dizzy I stop to lean against a wall. Suddenly, blackness creeps into the edge of my vision, and I soon feel myself falling.

            I wake up to a bright white light over my head and the comforting feel of Blake's hands wrapped around one of mine. There's a dull pain in my shoulder, but it's far more bearable than before. I have vague memories of drifting in and out of consciousness while being loaded into an ambulance and driven to the hospital, where I assume I am now. I grunt as my eyes adjust to the light.

            "Yang!" Blake cries out. "You're okay!"

            "Of course I am," I reply, still a bit woozy. "What happened?"

            "I found the sniper." Blake's unusually curt tone made me think there was something else.

            "And?"

            "He won't be using his fingers," Blake tells me. "He should be awaiting trial now."

            "And the attack?" I ask. "Did we win?"

            "Weiss had arrived when I got back, but..."

            "Blake. Is everything okay?" I'm now immensely concerned.

            "Everyone had surrendered. The enemy were cuffing them and putting bags over their heads. Ruby saw me on the roof before they got to her and mouthed at me to run."

            "Fuck. We have to save them," I say.

            "I know, babe," Blake tells me. "But right now there's nothing we can do. We don't know where they are." Our conversation is halted when a doctor makes his way over to my bed. His clean-shaven face is twisted into a frown as he reads the chart at the end of the bed.

            "Ms Belladonna, I presume?" he asks Blake, sitting down in the empty chair next to her. When she nods, he continues, "as the patient's spouse, you may stay. Now, Ms Xiao Long..."

            "Will there be any permanent damage?" I blurt out, worried that I may lose function in my dominant arm.

            "It's unclear," the doctor says. "Your collarbone is broken, but that should heal normally. Physically, we think you’ll make a full  recovery, but… The surgeon who removed the bullet, as well as the paramedics who brought you here, said your Aura doesn't seem to be working at the site of the wound."

            "I noticed that when I tried to walk here," I say. "I couldn't close it, but I knew my Aura hadn't been depleted."

            "In that case, we're not sure why the shot wasn't deflected, or at least slowed down."

            "I tracked down the shooter and brought him in," Blake says. "His gun seemed pretty high-tech. Almost experimental."

            "Are you saying someone's invented a gun that bypasses Aura?" I ask.

            "It certainly seems that way," Blake replies. "I brought it in for analysis."

            "In any case," the doctor cuts in, "I'm prescribing you painkillers and a drug which should help your Aura work properly again. You'll also need to change the bandage on your shoulder every day, and come back in a week for a check-up."

            "All right," I say. "Am I cleared to leave?"

            "Yes," the doctor says. "Just avoid strenuous activity."

            "I'll make sure she does," Blake tells him. "Well, Yang, if you're up for it, we should go home. I'll go pick up your prescription later."

            "Yeah. Okay," I agree, climbing out of bed without using my right arm. I follow Blake out of the hospital and back to our apartment, where I immediately sit down on the couch and turn on the TV. Meanwhile, Blake is being uncharacteristically fussy over me, asking if I need anything to eat or drink, if I need a blanket or anything like that. I tell her I'm fine, and she joins me on the couch.

            We decide to avoid the news, neither of us wishing for a reminder of the attack. Instead, we watch a sitcom about a slightly insane family with weird accents dealing with life in their own bizarre way, while the matriarch, Agnes, swears at everyone and everything. One episode in particular drives my thoughts to an idea I've been toying with for a few weeks now.

            "Blake, I've been thinking."

            "That doesn't seem concerning in the least," Blake replies, once more demonstrating her infamous dry wit. I choose to ignore it.

            "I figured since there's nothing we can really do right now, this might be a good time to talk to you about something that's been on my mind for a while... You'll probably think I'm crazy though..."

            "What is it, honey?" The sarcasm is gone from Blake's voice, replaced by genuine interest.

            "Blake... I wanna have kids." My wife is speechless for a while, and I wonder what's going through her head.

            "Yang..." _This doesn't sound good..._ I think to myself. "I do too, but are you familiar with basic biology?"

            "I– wait, what?" Her answer has confused me to no end.

            "At this point, I think we know each other's bodies well enough to know that we _can't_ have kids," she says ruefully.

            "I... I know," I say. "But surely we could adopt, or find a donor, or _something_ , right?"

            "Well... That's something we'll just have to think about, isn't it?"

            "Yeah," I agree. "Yeah, we will."

            As Blake gets up, announcing her plans to make dinner, I smile at the prospect of raising a child with the woman I love.


	15. Making Preparations

**Blake**

  
"Yang, the doctor says it has to come off every day." The bandage over Yang's wound needs changed, and can't have been comfortable for her to sleep with. It's wrapped tightly over the wound, under her arm, round to her back and over her shoulder, causing a noticeable bulge under her shirt and preventing her from lowering her right arm completely. Trying to make her stay still long enough to get it off to change it isn't proving very easy. For someone who recently announced her desire to raise a child, she's not currently acting very grown up. She keeps twitching every time I try to start unwrapping it, and telling me to wait. To her credit, though, she has been very diligent with the pills she was told to take and hasn't complained about the pain once, even when I could tell it was hurting her.

"But what if you can't dress it properly? It's fucked up enough, isn't it?" she asks, clearly worried. I can tell she isn't messing with me.

"What's brought this on?" I ask. "You've been wounded before. I've done this for you before."

"I know, but... My Aura's always been there. I'm worried something's gonna go horribly wrong." I figure that's a fair point, and I tell her this when I can't think of a counter.

"I'll give you a few minutes," I offer. "But we have to do this."

"Okay." Her acquiescence is obviously sincere, but I don't want a repeat of the first attempt. Instead, I head into our bedroom and retrieve Gambol Shroud before creeping back into the kitchen, where Yang is sitting at the breakfast bar. After ensuring that all the needed supplies are definitely there, I sneak up behind her and cleave through the bandage with my sword. She yelps when she feels the cold metal pressing softly against her skin, and I laugh in spite of myself. I then pull the bandage off, now a much easier job, and set about inspecting the wound.

"See?" I ask. "That wasn't so bad."

"You bitch," she replies, but I can tell she's trying not to smile.

"Do me a favour," I say. "Flare up your Aura." Yang nods, and a brilliant yellow glow begins emanating from her body. She's almost too bright to look at, shining like my own personal sun. The glow is quite uniform, except the area where she got shot. That spot is almost completely dark, but there is a faint hint of yellow creeping in. "It's definitely getting better," I tell her. "Looks like your Aura's starting to flow back into it."

"I hope so," she says. "I'll need it to save our friends."

"I know," I reply wistfully. "Anyway, let's get the new bandage on." After dabbing at the wound a few times with cotton dipped in rubbing alcohol, I'm quick to cover it back up with a clean bandage. "Oh, by the way. Someone's coming to look at the window later today, but it's probably gonna be a big job when it gets replaced. I might have to run a mission to pay it."

"Is there anything good available?" Yang asks.

"Well, I checked earlier while you were still asleep and found a protection job in the Atlas lab where they're analysing the gun that shot you," I say, thinking back to the morning contract search I did while drinking my tea. "Apparently they've got some really sensitive research in there. Offering several thousand Lien."

"Not bad," Yang says. She doesn't even seem surprised that I'm being offered such a high price for what seems like an easy job. "How long would you be gone?"

"Three or four days." I'm a little hesitant to leave her alone for that long, especially with needing to change her bandage every day, but we might need the money. Replacing an entire panoramic window at the top of a skyscraper isn't cheap, and lately we've been pretty nonchalant with our spending. We've eaten out or gotten food delivered four or five times a week – though we've _eaten out_ in a different sense even more often than that – and Yang decided to go on a bit of a shopping spree the week before we got married. Plus there's the cost of the wedding and the lack of any payment for Ozpin's work...

"You should do it," Yang tells me. I blink, having been lost in thought about our finances, then look at her in surprise.

"B-but you're still hurt," I say, rather lamely. "Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"Well, I might struggle to change the bandage, but I'm sure Beacon's infirmary staff would do it, or even someone at the hospital or something," she says. "I'll miss you, but I'd rather that than be worrying about money. I don't want a repeat of our student days."  
"Yeah, you're right," I agree. "You sure you'll manage without me?"

"Yes, Blake. I'll be fine."

"All right." I get out my scroll and navigate to the 'Contracts' menu, where I quickly find the lab protection mission. Going over the exact details before accepting, I find that I'm needed to assist the night security team and that it would start at nine o'clock tonight. Other than that, there are no real caveats, and I'm actually offered extra payment if anything should happen, as well as having my transport fees taken care of. I hit 'Accept' and within minutes receive an email containing the lab's address, as well as a first-class ticket to Atlas.

"When do you leave?" Yang asks.

"Flight's at two," I reply. "I'll arrive in time for dinner. I'll need to pack."

"Want me to help?"

"No, thanks," I say, once more amazed at how helpful she always seems to want to be. Even while she's hurt, she still wants to go out of her way to make things easier for me. I've been living with her for years, and sometimes I still can't quite believe it.

"Suit yourself," Yang says, making her way to the couch. I go to our bedroom and make the bed, before retrieving my duffel bag from our closet and throwing in the essentials, including plenty of ammo for Gambol Shroud. I've always been a quick and efficient packer, so it takes mere minutes for everything to be ready for my trip. When I'm finished, I leave my bag by the door and join my wife in the living room.

She's playing one of her mindless shooters when I arrive, and swearing colourfully at the TV every time her character is killed. Good thing she's more observant on the real battlefield, I think, watching her fail to notice an enemy player until it's far too late. I sit next to her and feign disinterest while secretly paying minute attention to everything she's doing, seeing if she's as good at video games as she likes to claim she is.

"Wanna play, Blake?" Yang suddenly asks, offering me the extra controller. I shrug and wordlessly accept the proffered device while she sets up a one-on-one match. After briefly explaining the controls to me, along with the honour system of not looking at each other's section of the screen, she starts the game and we begin prowling the map, searching for each other. I'm the first to score a kill, successfully sneaking up behind her and loosing a spray of bullets into her avatar's back. So uncivilised, I muse. A sword is much more elegant. Yang curses loudly and vows that my kill was pure luck. I smirk and the game continues, with me killing her five or six times for every one kill she scores on me.

The game gets more and more heated as we continue playing for close to an hour and a half. It's very amusing for me to see how frustrated Yang is getting over such a trivial thing, and despite video games never really being my thing, I'm slightly disappointed by the interruption coming from a knock on our front door. When I open it, I'm met with a stubbly, burly brute of a man dressed in blue overalls and holding a clipboard.

"Is this the residence of a Miss Belladonna?" he asks. "I'm here about a broken window."

"Yeah, this is the place," I tell him. "How do you plan on replacing it?"

"With a crane, and lots of care," he says. "I saw the damage as I was coming over here." I lead the man into the living room, where Yang is now playing her game online with strangers. He takes all the necessary measurements and gives us a quote, which my wife seems to ignore. As it turns out my mission is paying far more than we actually need, but it doesn't hurt to make extra money. Besides, if Yang's serious about kids, and we go through with something to have them, I imagine we'll be glad to have some Lien stored away.

"Any idea when you'll be able to do the job?" I ask, escorting the contractor into the main hallway.

"Probably sometime in the next couple of days. We'll call ahead and confirm."

Glancing back towards the living room to make sure Yang isn't listening, I lower my voice and say, "I'm going out of town today, so it'll probably just be my wife. She'll probably offer to help, but do not let her. She's been injured and I don't want her making it worse for herself. And don't mention this to her either."

"Not a problem, miss," he says. "Anyway, I believe that's all. I'll take my leave now." When he's gone, I rejoin Yang in the living room for a few minutes before I need to head to the airport.

"You know," I say, putting my hand on her face to make her turn her head towards me. Confining myself to verbal means of getting her attention would have been less successful. "We really need to start saving money."

"Huh? Why?" Yang asks. "Are we going on vacation? This probably isn't the best time."

"No, of course not," I tell her, laughing. "It's because kids are expensive, and I'd like to be at least financially prepared."

"Uh, Blake? You can't buy a child." When she says that, I'm not sure if I should be exasperated or rolling on the floor in hysterics. When she follows it up with, "actually, if you're rich enough I'm pretty sure you can buy anything, but we're not. What do you think's gonna happen?", my body opts for a combination of the two. I laugh in spite of my slight annoyance at Yang's insistence on not taking things seriously, and shake my head in a vain attempt to illustrate this.

"I mean raising a child is expensive, you mooncalf," I tell her when I calm down. "And I'm pretty sure we'll need to redecorate one of the guest bedrooms to make it a kid's room."

"I'm gonna ignore the fact that you just said 'mooncalf', and the fact that I don't know what the fuck it means," she says. "We're really gonna do this?"

"Of course," I reply, taking her hand. "I mean, I already enjoy living with one child, so a second one should be even more fun."

"Ruby doesn't live with–oh!" Yang exclaims. "You cheeky bitch!"

"Love you," I say. "But on a serious note, yes. If you're as sure as I am about having a child, we will figure something out when things are back to normal."

"I'm sure," she tells me. After a quick glance at the clock, she adds, "don't you need to be going?"

"Yeah, I do," I say somewhat wistfully, getting to my feet. "Remember, take it easy. Your Aura seems to be coming back, but you're still not close to healed. Get your bandage done everyday, and if the contractor calls about the window, make sure you're here when they are." By the time I've finished, we're in the hallway by the front door.

"I know, Blake," Yang replies. "You worry too much."

"I just don't want to come home and find my apartment's been destroyed and my wife's in hospital," I tell her, picking up my bag. I pull her in for a kiss, and am pleasantly surprised when her hand makes its way to my ass and slaps it lightly. After biting her hard enough to make her tense up ever-so-slightly, I pull away and open the door. "I'll be home as soon as I can. I love you."

"Love you too, Blake."


	16. Preparations for the Future

**Ruby**

            I wake up in a freezing room, wrists aching from being cuffed. I'm tied to a horribly uncomfortable chair, and I figure I've been here for a while because my butt hurts from sitting too long. The last thing I remember after surrendering and telling Blake to run is having a bag pulled over my head, so I guess someone knocked me out and brought me here. Wherever here is.

            "Ruby! You're awake!"

            I turn my head to face the source of the voice and see Jaune across the room from me, tied to a similar chair. He has an angry purple bruise on his cheek, but other than that he seems fine. Looking around, I see the others, but none of them are awake yet. I also spot several cameras, and gulp nervously.

            "Do you know what's going on?" I ask Jaune.

            "No," he says, sounding a little scared. "I only woke up a few minutes ago, and no one's been in here to check on us."

            As if on cue, a door behind Jaune suddenly opens and a short girl with different-coloured eyes and hair enters, followed by a familiar cane and bowler hat.

            "Well, would you look at this?" Torchwick says. "You thought you were safe from me, didn't you? I'm going to have fun with you, Little Red..."    

 

**Yang**

            The past two days have been lonely. Waking up with no one beside me feels really weird after years of sharing a bed with my girlfriend-turned-wife almost every night. Aside from a phone call confirming the time of the window repair job, nothing much happened the day after Blake went on her mission. As scheduled, the dudes showed up the next day, and I'm slightly ashamed to admit I checked out one or two of them.

            Now, on the third day of Blake's mission, I'm watching TV and hoping she comes home soon. Aside from anything else, having to leave every day to change my bandage is really annoying. Anyway, the news comes on, and with trepidation I decide to continue watching it. I don't really want a reminder of what happened the day I got shot, but I figure there might be other important things going on in the world.  When Lisa Lavender's face appears on the screen, her expression is alarmingly grave.

            " _Disturbing video footage has been released following the tragedy that occurred in Vale four days ago. Several Huntsmen and Huntresses were captured, including Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, who were until recently accused of having connections to terrorism. The video shows the captured warriors tied to chairs in a room with a man identified as Roman Torchwick, along with an unidentified woman, both of whom appear to be inflicting great pain upon their captives. General James Ironwood of the Atlesian military has pledged to track down where these criminals are hiding, but has so far been unsuccessful."_

To the left of Lisa's face, a still image of Ruby is displayed. One of her eyes is swollen shut while blood drips from a gash under the other one. Her expression is contorted into a grimace of pain. When I see what's been done to my sister, my blood boils and I have to turn off the TV so I don't punch it in anger. After taking several deep breaths to calm myself down, I turn the TV back on. Coincidentally, the item now being addressed also hits me kinda close to home.

            " _A high-tech research lab in Atlas was attacked by unknown forces last night. Several scientists were injured, but the assailants were fought off by Huntress Blake Belladonna, who had been contracted to defend the lab. Ms Belladonna declined to comment on the incident."_

            When Lisa starts reading off the next item, I get out my scroll to call Blake. When her face appears on screen, she appears to be in an airport waiting lounge, and she looks really surprised.

            "Why are you up so early?" she asks.

            "Blake, it's like noon," I tell her.

            "Exactly," she says. "You're not normally awake until at least one."

            "Fair enough," I concede. "Anyway, are you okay? I heard about what happened last night."

            "Yeah, I'm good," she says. "Got a small cut on my arm, but nothing serious."

            "How'd they even touch you?" I ask. "They must've been good."

            "I... may have had slightly too much wine with dinner..." Blake admits sheepishly. "Anyway, I'm coming home today."

            "Right after an attack?" I'm relieved, but confused.

            "They're moving their research to a more secure location," she explains. "They're getting some Atlas Specialists to escort them. I'm not needed anymore."

            "Good. I've missed you."

            "I've missed you too. Oh, by the way... I have something to tell you when I get back."

            "What? What is it?" I ask. Blake doesn't answer, instead choosing to smile cryptically.

            "Love you," she says. "I'll be home around three. See you soon." She hangs up before I can say anything else.

            After making myself some lunch, I kill the three hours before Blake's arrival by playing video games, but my performance is noticeably worse than usual because I'm too preoccupied thinking about what she has to tell me. I figure from her tone that it's nothing bad, but it must be kinda secret if she's waiting until she's home, right? Or does she just feel like making me wait for some reason?

            I'm so focused on these thoughts and my game that I don't notice the time going by, nor do I hear the front door open. I only realise Blake's home when she sneaks up behind me. I'm slightly alarmed when she puts her hands over my eyes, but that feeling is quickly replaced with happiness when I feel her kiss the top of my head.

            "It should not be that easy to sneak up on you at home," she tells me. "What if I'd been a psychopath?"

            "Some would argue you'd have to be psycho to marry me," I reply, pausing my game and getting up to hug her. "Anyway, what did you wanna tell me?"

            "I kinda want a shower first..." Blake says. "And maybe a nap..."

            "Oh, come on," I complain. "Tell me now."

            "Hm... What do I get out of it?"

            "Anything," I say, without hesitation. "I really wanna know!"

            A slightly devilish grin flashes across Blake's face before she answers. "Fine. Sit down." We sit down together on the couch, and she takes my hand. "That lab wasn't just analysing the gun."

            "Really?" I ask. "That's the big news?"

            "No, it's just the preface," she says. "They were also researching advanced genetics. Specifically fertility and stuff like that."

            "So?" I'm not quite getting what she's hinting at.

            "They've figured out how to fertilise an egg using genetic material from any reproductive cell."

            "Blake, you know science isn't my strong suit. Unless you count kicking ass as a science."

            "Yang, it means they could take DNA from one of us, who would be like the 'father'. Then the other could have a normal pregnancy," Blake explains. "We could have kids."

            "Are you serious?" I ask, incredulous.

            "Yes, Yang. And they'd be _ours_. Not adopted. Not related to a donor. Our own blood children."

            "Blake, this is incredible." I kiss her, then a thought occurs to me. "How'd you get them to tell you this stuff?" I ask.

            "Uh... There was a bonus offered if there were any incidents. I told the guy in charge to forego the extra payment if he told me what was so important in the lab."

            "And he agreed to that?" I ask.

            "Well, I _may_ have gone with him to a bar after the attack because he needed a drink for the shock, and convinced him then."

            "You sly devil," I tell her. "But first things first. Rescuing the others."

            "Of course," Blake agrees. "We should talk to Ozpin."

            I get out my scroll and call him, and he's quick to answer. He looks stressed, tired, and older than I've ever seen him. "Hello, Professor. I don't think we need to explain what we're calling about."

            "You are correct, Yang," he says. "The only thing that surprises me about it is how long it's taken you to consult me."

            "I was waiting for Blake," I explain. "I'm still recovering. I can't do anything alone right now."

            "Do you have anything to go on?" Blake asks. "Any idea where they're being held?"

            "No," Ozpin sighs. "I'd like you to join me here at Beacon. It'll be easier to discuss."

            "We'll be right over," I tell him.

            Blake and I stay true to my word. We reach Ozpin's office, a journey which I'm pretty sure we finish as fast as humanly possible (or Faunus-ly possible, in Blake's case, right?), and are met by the man himself, along with Goodwitch and Team CFVY. The atmosphere in the room is frosty, so much so that it feels like I've pushed Weiss over the edge again. _Oh, if only that were the case instead of this shit_ , I think.

            "So?" Blake asks. "Anything in particular to discuss?"

            "Miss Scarlatina had a suggestion just before the two of you arrived," Glynda replies. "Velvet, if you would."

            Her heroism in the battle of Vale and graduation from Beacon haven't made Velvet any less shy. She shoots Goodwitch a look that's almost baleful, then turns to Blake and I. "I thought maybe... We could trace the video back to its source... Find the server it's hosted on."

            "Could we do it?" Blake asks. "I mean, won't they have covered their tracks digitally as well as physically?"

            "You are not wrong, Blake," Ozpin tells her. "Our enemies have been careful thus far. A small slip up like that would be a minor miracle, and it is unlikely that the video is stored in the same place as the missing Hunters. However, it would give us somewhere to start looking."

            Velvet looks like she's regretting her idea, and I can't help but feel sorry for her. "We can still try, though, right?" I ask, hoping to cheer her up. "Mistakes _do_ happen."

            "We can," Ozpin says. "But I fear that if we do find what we are looking for, it will not be due to a mistake."

            "What do you mean?" Coco asks.

            "Team JNPR and half of Team RWBY were taken," Glynda says. "It is possible that they would allow us to find that information to lure us into a trap to capture more of our best fighters, a trap Miss Xiao Long would be especially susceptible to."

            "Excuse me?" I ask, annoyance suddenly rising in me. "Why would I be especially susceptible?"

            "I meant no offence," Glynda says defensively. "Your loyalty to your friends and family is admirable. But it can easily be used against you."

            "They likely know about what happened with you and Cinder," Ozpin tells me. "We would be best to anticipate their thinking before launching any assaults. In the meantime, I will instruct the most talented hackers known to any government to begin searching for the server where that video is hosted."

            Some impatience is probably showing on my face, because Blake puts her hand on my arm and says gently, "it'll give you time to fully recover. I'm not letting you risk your life while you're still healing."

            "All right. Fine," I say. "But when we find them, I will _not_ show them any mercy."

            "Anything else we should know?" Blake asks.

            "Currently, just one thing," Ozpin says. He sighs before elaborating. "Raven has gone dark again. She might have opted for radio silence, or she might have been compromised. We do not yet know which. Qrow is searching for her."

            I feel like that should bother me more than it does. Sure, Raven ditched me and Dad, but she's still my mother. I should feel _something_ about her being missing again, right? I chalk my lack of empathy up to stress over everything that's already happened.

            "Keep us posted," I say. "If that's all..." No one seems to have anything else to say, so I take my leave, feeling Blake close behind me.

            "Hey, Yang?" Coco calls as the elevator doors begin closing. I hit the open door button. "Don't worry. We'll find them." I can't think of a reply as the doors close once again. This time I let them.

            "She's right, you know," Blake murmurs. "We _always_ win."


	17. Back in Action

**Weiss**

            _When they find us..._

I've lost all track of how long we've been imprisoned. A week, at least. There's no doubt in my mind that we're being searched for, but we're presumably very well hidden.

            Torchwick is very obviously displeased with how we manipulated him. He and his small friend have been less than kind to us. Jaune has at least two broken fingers, Nora's wrist is sitting at an alarming angle, Ruby's got a scar under her eye like mine now...

            Things have been difficult between me and her lately, but surprisingly I'm still heartbroken to see how badly she's been hurt while I've been unable to stop it. Somehow that affects me more than my own treatment. I really need to sit down with her and sort things out when this is over. Until then... I need to cope, and stay strong for myself.

            The others don't know what's been done to me. Roman keeps entering when we're trying to sleep and taking me—still tied to my chair—to an adjoining room and having his degenerate fun. Once his short mute friend joined. My injuries are more emotional than physical, but I still probably won't be walking out of this without some new scars marring my skin. He's said something to the others about my ransom being higher if I'm unharmed to explain why he's mostly leaving me alone while hurting them.

            All I know is, when Yang sees the state of me, Ruby and Team JNPR, she'll level this entire building.

            **Blake**

            "Blake, I feel fine."

            I frown. Yang's bullet wound still hasn't healed fully, and her Aura isn't covering that spot as much as it should be. Despite this, she insisted over breakfast that we go to the Emerald Forest to hunt.

            "Yang," I say. "I don't want you delaying the healing process. Wait for the okay from a professional."

            "I _am_ a professional," she insists. "A professional ass-kicker, who currently isn't kicking any ass!"

            "I know, honey."

            "So let me go kick some ass!" When I don't reply, she says, " _please_? It's not like there's anything tough in that forest!"

            "Fine," I sigh. I can tell she's not going to take no for an answer. "I suppose it _has_ been over a week since you punched anything."

            "You're the best!" she yells loudly, standing up and throwing her arms around me.

            "Really... not necessary..." I stammer, my words muffled by her chest, which she's accidentally (or maybe intentionally, knowing her. I can't say I mind) pressed against my face. "But I'm coming with you," I say when she releases me. "And you're taking it easy."

            "No problem," she promises. "You really think I'd wanna go be awesome without my best girl around to see it?"

            "I guess you do love an audience," I say slyly. I try not to let her see how much being called her _best girl_ messes with my head. Even after years of being with her, offhand comments like that still get to me in the best way possible.

            Half an hour later, our weapons are loaded and ready, and we're approaching the forest. Yang looks eager, and I can't exactly say I blame her. She likes fighting things as much as I like reading, and I know I'd be going out of my mind if I had to endure several days without a book in front of me.

            It's a nice day, but the bright sun and occasional fluffy cloud across the vibrant blue sky are making a stark contrast with the general mood in Vale. People are still wary from the attack when our friends were taken, and the situation with Menagerie has the entire world tense. Still, despite my misgivings about letting Yang exert herself and the uncertainty concerning the fate of our teammates and JNPR, I can't help but enjoy the weather. It's being made even better, in my mind, by how excited my wife looks about punching things.

            I feel her take my hand while I'm still lost in thought. I realise Yang doesn't just appear to be in a good mood because I'm letting her attack Grimm, but also because of what I learned in Atlas.

            "Hey, Yang?" I say. "Do you want to... get in touch with that lab when the others are safe?"

            "So soon?" she replies. "And I mean... Won't there still be a lot of other shit to deal with?"

            "Do you think we're not ready?"

            Yang stops walking and looks at me before answering. "I don't think the two of us will ever _not_ be ready for anything. It's just... Don't get me wrong, I do want to raise kids with you, but... I don't know how I feel about bringing them into the world right now, what with it being as fucked up as it is. I'm not even sure we'd have the time to raise them properly." Her eyes are full of doubt, and maybe the slightest hint of anguish.

            "Hey," I tell her. "You've done enough for this world. You beat Cinder, one of the most dangerous terrorists in decades. Twice. If anyone deserves a break to raise a family, it's you. And if Ozpin or Glynda or anyone else has a problem with it, screw 'em." I'm not entirely sure where my sudden burst of slight aggression came from, but somehow it feels good to get it out. "Besides," I add. "We have enough badasses on our side that us sitting out a fight or two won't make much difference."

            "Yeah, you're right," Yang says, the smile returning to her face. "Though I'd much rather screw _you_." I playfully smack her arm. "In all seriousness, though," she says, "if you think we're ready, I'm more than happy to go along with you. Whatever we decide to do, we're in it together."

            "I think we should," I say. "Unless... You really do want to wait a while longer."

            "Well..." From Yang's tone, I figure this could go either way. "I guess we better start thinking of baby names."

            That answer fills me with a happiness I haven't felt since our wedding day. I squeeze her hand and smile, temporarily forgetting all our troubles.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            "Think I can kill that Ursa with one punch?" Yang asks quietly. We're crouched behind a bush, watching an Ursa lumbering by. It seems to be completely on its own, and I have to admit that it's nice to be fighting regular Grimm again, Grimm we can reliably kill.

            "I have no doubt that you're going to try," I reply drily. "And when you fail, you will probably complain that it's no ordinary Ursa."

            "Tsk, tsk, Blake," she replies. "So unfaithful. Just watch me." A small smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as she scrambles up a tree and precariously walks along a branch that scarcely looks strong enough to support her weight. After winking at me, she jumps as high as she can. At the apex of her leap, she fires Ember Celica upwards to propel herself downwards, and twists in midair. She drops like a stone towards the Ursa, firing again when her fist meets its head. After landing in a roll, she calmly walks towards me, apparently unconcerned with whether she was successful or not. When the corpse begins to dissipate behind her, I see why.

            "Well done," I tell her. "I don't think I've ever seen you do that before."

            "Well, you know," she replies, grinning smugly. "You took one down in one hit the day we became partners. I figured it was time I do the same."

            "I genuinely can't tell if that was your attempt at being romantic or if you're just showing off."

            "Both...?" Yang says doubtfully. "Anyway, let's go. I wanna kill more stuff."

            _Of course you do_ , I think, following her as she sprints off deeper into the forest.

            All told, I end up losing track of the total amount of Grimm we kill, though two of them were King Taijitus, and there was a Deathstalker that mistakenly thought it could take us. It is no longer alive. Much more important to me, though, is Yang. She seems to still be in top fighting form, and if her shoulder gave her any grief, it didn't show.

            "You okay?" I ask as we're on our way home.

            "I'm great," she replies, smiling widely. She looks positively radiant in the fading light of the setting sun. "I needed the adrenaline."

            "How's the shoulder?"

            "Doesn't hurt at all. I think I'm good to beat up bad guys now."

            "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I laugh. "We need to find them."

            "I know." The anguish I see in her eyes makes me wish I didn't mention that part.

            "And Yang?" She perks up slightly. "When we do, don't hold back. Give. Them. Hell."

            "Don't worry, Blake," Yang says, smiling again. "I intend to."

            I'm interrupted before I can say anything else by my scroll ringing, announcing a call from Ozpin. His expression when his face appears onscreen is unreadable, but I figure he'll be quick to impart whatever he wishes to say.

            "Blake? Is Yang with you?" When I nod, he says, "Taiyang has found something in Menagerie."

            "What is it?" Yang demands.

            "Very bad news... or a trap." Ozpin pauses. "A metal collar-like device, bearing an unfortunate logo."

            "Whose logo?" I ask.

            "Some of it was obscured by scorch marks—an inevitable side effect of being in a battle of that scale, I suppose—but there is no question. It exactly matches the logo of a fairly secretive research and development corporation with strong ties to the Atlas military."

            "That sounds bad," Yang says slowly.

            "It is," Ozpin agrees. "General Ironwood has been notified. We can now only wait to see what he does with this information."

            "Hopefully something rational," I murmur.

            "I know he will do what he thinks is right," Ozpin muses. "But James... He's never been one for subtlety."

            "What about Raven?" Yang asks. "Has Qrow found anything on her yet?"

            "No... but this also means there's nothing to suggest she's gone rogue."

            "Anything on the video?" I ask.

            "Nothing definitive," Ozpin sighs. "But most of the team concurs on one thing: the host server is in one of the kingdom capitals, and it isn't Vacuo. I can't claim to understand how they reached these conclusions, but it narrows the field somewhat. I will keep you posted."

            "At least we're getting somewhere," Yang says. I can tell she's trying to be optimistic, but there's no masking the impatience in her voice.

            "That will be all for now," Ozpin tells us. "Please stay vigilant and out of trouble. I need you two ready to go the moment something happens."

            "We will," I promise. He nods, and ends the call.

 

**Elsewhere**

            _Thud_. The knock is followed by a man's nervous voice. "My lady? I've brought your dinner."

            "Bring it in." The girl, almost unseen in the darkness of her bedroom, is no older than ten, but she speaks with the authority of someone who's been on a throne for decades. The door opens to reveal one of the caretakers: a small, thin man in a semi-casual shirt and tie. The light from the hallway glints off the domed silver platter he carries, startlingly bright in the chamber he timidly enters.

            He stops, frozen in fear, when he hears the growl. From the shadows comes a Beowolf, smaller than average, with almost no bone armour, but its eyes are as malevolent and its teeth and claws as sharp as a Grimm thrice its size. It approaches the caretaker, sniffing curiously, until the girl speaks again.

            "Okami, to me." The Grimm pads over to her, nuzzling her pale outstretched hand. "Don't mind the wolf," she tells the caretaker. "He won't hurt you. Unless I tell him to. Leave the food on the floor and go."

            "Yes, my lady." After gently placing the platter on the floor a few paces from the door, the caretaker hurries out. The door shuts behind him, leaving girl and Grimm alone in the gloom.

            "Are you hungry, Okami?" the girl asks. "Let's see what Daddy sent us this time."

            When she removes the lid of the platter, the scent of raw meat drives the Beowolf into a frenzy.


	18. Promising Leads

**Jaune**  


There's no day or night in this room, but we've all been trying to maintain normal sleep patterns. On what I guess to be the eighth day, a TV is rolled into the room by two guards. They turn it on and select the news channel. I don't think I've ever seen Lisa Lavender looking so worried.  


" _General James Ironwood has placed the kingdom of Atlas under martial law, following the discovery of some evidence in the recent Grimm attack on Menagerie. Full details have not been disclosed, but we know a high-profile research and development corporation based in the kingdom which often undertakes contracts for the military has been implicated. They deny all involvement, but Ironwood's official statement confirms that strict measures will be taken until the truth can be unveiled._ "  


"That'll cause a panic," one of the guards laughs. "And panic'll bring the Grimm a-knockin'."  


"What do you get out of this?" Pyrrha demands. "If Grimm attacks increase, more will appear and eventually the world will be overrun. Everyone loses."  


The second guard slaps her cheek, hard. "I didn't say you could talk, Nikos." My blood boils, but tied to my chair, I'm unable to do anything. "But we won't lose," he continues. "We'll be safe. Meanwhile..." He gestures at the TV, where Lisa is reading out another item.  


" _There has been no progress in the search for the missing Huntsmen and Huntresses. Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and all four members of Team JNPR were taken by unidentified men during the recent Grimm attack on Vale, after overwhelming odds forced them to surrender. All that's been seen of them since is a disturbing video showing alarming treatment of them_."  


"We get to have all the fun we want," the first guard says. "We won't be found here for a very long time."  


"You're wrong," Ruby says in the toughest voice she can muster. "My sister _will_ find us."  


"Oh yeah?" the first guard replies. "And what do you think will happen if she does? Do you know how many people we have here? She'd be outnumbered at least a hundred to one."

"Then God help you," Weiss says quietly. She's been injured the least, but it always looks like she hasn't slept and her voice is barely more than a whisper, if she talks at all. "If that's all you've got... When Yang Xiao Long gets here, you are all dead."

"No one's that good," the second guard says. The two of them turn the TV off and pull it out of the room. They switch off the light as they go, leaving the six of us in total darkness.  


"They are coming, right?" I ask. "Blake and Yang?"  


"If they don't get here soon," Nora replies. "I will hunt them through hell and kill them again."  


"Don't worry, Jaune," Ruby says with a hint of optimism in her voice. "They'll be here. I promise."  
  
**Yang**  


"He's done _what_?!" Blake yells when she hears the news. "Why would he—"  


"Blake..." I say nervously. I haven't seen her this riled up in a while. "Ozpin will talk to him."  


"But this is playing right into their hands!" she insists. She gets up and starts pacing in front of the TV.  


"We don't know their plan," I remind her.  


"I doubt this hinders it!"  


"I know," I say. I stand behind her and wrap my arms around her, resting my chin between her cat ears. I've always liked the way the fuzz on them feels against my cheeks, but my mind is taken away from that when I feel how tense she is. I kiss her head lightly and put my hands on her shoulders.  


"What're you—"  


"Helping you relax," I explain. "You've been too stressed about everything lately. I don't blame you, but it's not healthy." I begin massaging her shoulders firmly, and she soon melts into me. I half-carry her into our bedroom and lay her on her stomach so I can give her a proper massage. As I move down her back, she purrs a couple of times. It's still hard for me to resist squealing when she does that, even though I've heard it countless times.  


When my hands approach her ass, I'm sorely tempted to keep going, but I know myself too well. I'd end up turning what is (I'm hoping) a loving, not-quite-tender massage into something else entirely, and I figure Blake wouldn't appreciate that right now. _She'll let me know if she wants it_ , I think.  


"That was amazing," she says softly, muffled by the sheets. "Can you do that more often?"  


"Only if I don't have to keep it PG," I reply, with a teasing edge to my voice.  


"Deal," she says instantly, "but not this time. The way my mind is now, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun for you as usual."  


"No problem," I say. "I've never been one to push for sex."  


"Liar," she replies, rolling over to face me. "It takes a serious situation to get you to _stop_ bugging me for it."  


"Can I remind you that _you_ initiated our first time?" I ask slyly.  


She blushes. "That was probably the least romantic first time ever." She's not wrong; we'd just finished fighting off an attack on Beacon, orchestrated by Cinder some time before her main attack on Vale.  


"Yeah, but..." I hesitate. I've never shared this information before. "It was my first time doing it because I cared about the person instead of just for fun."  


"Never before me?" Blake asks, surprise evident in her tone.

"Nope. Before you, it was always drunk or bored sex. Once bor _ing_ sex." It's at this point that I realise talking to my wife about people I've done it with that aren't her is probably not the best idea. "Didn't happen often though. And you always were my best."  


"Amazing," Blake says after a brief silence. "Somehow you always manage to be sweet, even during the crudest conversations."  


"All part of my charm."  


"Seriously, though. Great massage. I really do feel better."  


"Glad to hear it." I pause, thinking of how best to phrase my next thought. "By the way... I was thinking we could head to the club tonight."  


"What?" Blake asks in disbelief. "Why? How could you think about drinking and partying right now?"  


"No," I laugh. "Not like that. I mean _the_ club."  


"Again, why?" She seems to have caught my meaning this time, but evidently my motives are still lost on her.  


"I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner," I say. "Junior's the best person in the city to ask about illegal shit."  


"Fair point," Blake concedes. "But will he know anything about this?"  


"If he does, I'll find out. Are you coming with me?"  


"Yes, but mainly so you don't blow the place up again."  


"I didn't last time!" I insist. "And we hadn't even met when I did that!"  


"Yes, but we were trying to keep a low profile," Blake reminds me. "We're no longer in immediate danger. I don't trust you to be subtle." Her tone is mostly playful, but there's a serious edge to it.  


"Well, that settles it! Date night!"  


"If I'd known this is what our dates would turn into, I wouldn't've married you," Blake mutters.  


"Sure you wouldn't've," I reply.  


Later in the day, I decide taking Blake out for a nice dinner would be a good idea, considering what I said about it being a date night. She agrees, with more than a little bit of suspicion. She never could resist the allure of food though. Unfortunately for me, she only gets more suspicious when she sees which restaurant I've taken her to.  


"Will you relax?" I ask.  


"Yang..." she says slowly. "Last time you brought me to this restaurant you asked me to marry you."  


"Yeah, I guess I did..." I admit sheepishly. "But what could I be planning this time?"  


"I don't know," Blake says. "You've always been full of surprises."  


"Blake, I promise you, if there's any surprises this time, it'll be that I forgot my wallet and you're paying."  


"Yang, I swear to all things holy..." Her face is priceless. It's somewhere between annoyance and trying not to laugh, with a hint of her _why-do-I-love-her-so-much expression_ normally reserved for my jokes.  


"Don't worry," I laugh. "I didn't. Though you're still welcome to pay."  


"We share a bank account," she reminds me. "It doesn't matter who pays."  


"Fair enough," I concede. "But seriously. Do you really think I could've been planning anything remotely romantic right now?"  


"I guess not," she says.  


Not being wracked by nerves, I end up enjoying my meal far more this time. I also notice that I haven't spent the evening drinking wine, which my liver will probably thank me for later. Surprisingly enough, Blake actually drinks more than I do, but I don't say anything to her about it. I know her well enough to know that she won't push her limits, and certainly won't get drunk enough to lose focus in Junior's club after dinner.  


If I'm being honest, I almost don't want to go. Going to Junior for information means thinking about this whole mess again, and today Blake's seemed to have mostly put it aside in her mind. She's definitely more relaxed than she's been in a while, and I've really missed seeing her smile. She just looks so happy again... almost as happy as when we agreed to look at options for kids once everything's taken care of.  


Still, after finishing my second dessert (key lime pie. I went for chocolate cake the first time round), I decide I can't really put it off any longer. After paying the bill, we grab our jackets and Blake's sword from the coat check (which doubles as a weapon check for people in our line of work) and leave the restaurant. It's not long before we're in front of the club. I smile slightly, remembering the first time I visited. Back then, my only concerns were finding Raven and getting into Beacon. Now... I sigh and push the door open.  


Blake winces at the volume of the music as we enter, but I'm more interested in the guards. Every one of them looks at me warily, and I notice most of their hands go to their weapons. Junior, standing by the bar with the Malachite twins, doesn't seem to know I'm here.  


"Sorry about the noise," I tell Blake. "Didn't occur to me." She waves her hand dismissively, and starts making her way over to Junior. I follow. When we reach the bar, I order a strawberry sunrise and sip it casually, waiting to see if our presence will be acknowledged. I'm not kept waiting long.  


"I take it this isn't girls' night out?" Junior asks. "You need something?"  


"I think you know exactly what we need," I tell him. "Tell us everything you know about... y'know." Somehow the idea of saying it makes me feel a lot more desperate. Luckily, he catches my meaning.  


Unfortunately... "Nothing. I swear. Only what's been released to the public."  


"You'd better not be lying," Blake tells him. "This abhorrent cacophony your DJ calls music has _not_ put me in a good mood." Totally inappropriate time for me to have this thought, but she's always so damn sexy when she's being threatening. And when she's doing almost anything else, but I digress.  


"I've heard nothing. Honestly." I can tell Junior's being truthful, so I figure we should leave it at that. I also figure I should come up with some sort of apology for the wasted trip and the ear pain Blake's doubtless experiencing.  


"Then we'll get out of your hair," I say. "But if we find out you're just covering your ass..." I let the unspoken threat hang in the air as Blake and I take our leave.  


"I _hate_ that place." My wife's frustration when we're outside is very obvious.  
"I know, babe," I say, taking her hand. "I shouldn't've asked you to come with me. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry it was a waste of time."  


"You couldn't help it," Blake replies. "He's been helpful before, so I agree that it wasn't unreasonable to think he might've been this time. I just.... I'm sick of being in the dark!"  


"Think how I feel," I say, trying to lighten the mood. "At least you can see perfectly in it."  


"Not like that!" She playfully slaps my arm, and I'm glad to see a faint smile on her face. It vanishes as we pass an electronics store with a TV display in the window. Every screen is playing the news, thankfully without sound. Lisa Lavender appears to be giving another "update" on the search, but it's easy enough for me to force my attention away from it. Blake and I manoeuvre around a guy standing in front of the store, both of us eager to get past it. What surprises me is when, a few feet later, Blake suddenly tightens her grip on my hand.  


"What is it?" I ask.  


"That man," she says quietly. "We're following him." She turns round and storms off in the direction of the guy we passed, who now seems to be making his way towards Junior's club. I can't figure out why she's suddenly so interested in him; he doesn't look like anyone I know, and nothing about his appearance suggests anything suspicious. I know better than to doubt Blake, but I still want her reasons.  


"Why?" I ask, catching up to her.  


"Because of what he said." I heard nothing from him, so I press Blake further.  


"What was it? I didn't hear."  


"No, you wouldn't," Blake replies. "He muttered it."  


"Muttered what?"  


"He said 'I can't fucking wait for my turn with them'."

 

**A/N: Apologies for the altogether too long, unplanned and unannounced hiatus here. I’ve pretty much been too busy doing other stuff and despite trying to be updates out for this, I’ve found myself unable to write anything for it for ages. My iPad also did this great thing where it decided to purge every document on it for no discernible reason and I was unable to recover anything, which just put me off for weeks. However, I do have chapters 19 and 20 finished, so assuming I don’t forget to upload them (which has happened before), they should be up as soon as I can think of titles for them.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Rest assured that I intend to get better, both with upload frequency and actual skill.**


	19. Quality Time

**Blake**

            "That son of a bitch is gonna die," Yang mutters.

            "No, Yang." I'm pretty sure she doesn't literally mean she's going to kill the guy, but even so, this is one instance where patience and stealth absolutely take precedence. "We see where he's going."

            "What if he's not going to where we need to go?"

            "Well... He likely won't volunteer the information willingly." She evidently catches my meaning; she smiles devilishly, and a flicker of red appears in her eyes. "Either way, I'm letting Ozpin know we might have something." Yang nods, and I get out my scroll to text Ozpin. It's quieter and less likely to draw notice than an audio conversation.

_Professor—I think we have a lead._

_What is it, Blake?_

_Potentially an associate of Torchwick. Encountered through random chance. Pursuing._

_Be careful. Don't do anything rash._

_Naturally. I'll keep Yang in check, too._

            Throughout the exchange, I barely look up from my Scroll, relying on Yang's gentle tugging at my free hand and the sight of her hair at the edge of my vision to navigate. When it's over, I'm somewhat surprised to see that we're in the heart of downtown Vale, not an area where I'd expect this sort of operation to be. Then again, that's likely intentional.

            Unfortunately, I notice something else, too. The guy we're following keeps looking over his shoulder at us, then putting his head down and walking on. I can't shake the feeling that he knows we're onto him. Yang seems to have the same thought; she's uncharacteristically focused, not attempting her usual "mood-lightening" (which I, and everyone else who's ever been on a mission with her, call _terrible jokes_ ).

            The guy soon goes around another corner, and we briefly lose sight of him. When we make the turn, I see him running through the small crowd of pedestrians, many of whom I suspect are walking to and from bars and nightclubs. I drop Yang's hand and sprint after our mark, hearing my wife's rapid footfalls close behind me. The guy's quick, but he's no match for my keen eyesight and quick reflexes, and especially not the almost excessive stamina Yang and I have developed over a lifetime of combat training. Even so, he manages to maintain a good fifty feet between us for a while.

            Eventually, as we're approaching a night market, he changes tactic. He runs in and starts weaving through the stalls, much to the chagrin of merchants and shoppers alike. Luckily for us, Yang's yell of "out of the way! Huntress business!" keeps our path mostly clear, and in the rare event that we lose sight of our target, someone always points us in the right direction. By the time he gives up on hiding, we've closed the gap to about thirty feet.

            His next attempt to shake us is through a building site. It's going to be the tallest building in the city when it's completed, but it's deserted at this time of night. As the glass for the windows hasn't been installed yet, it's possible to run right through the structure without pausing, which is exactly what he seems to want to do. He climbs some scaffolding to the second floor as I analyse the area.

            "Go underneath," I tell Yang. "Cut him off if he tries to jump back down." She nods and takes off through the shell of the first floor, while I clamber up after the guy we're chasing. When I get there, he seems to be taking a breather, but he's quick to continue running when he hears me. He's slower this time, and I close the gap right as he reaches the other side of the floor. He turns to face me.

            "I'm not trapped," he says, panting. "I can jump."

            "I'm counting on it," I reply.

            "Huh?" He looks over the edge, and I hear Yang call out, "helloooo!" "Fuck," the guy says. "What do you want?"

            Instead of answering, I sweep his legs out from under him and push him down to Yang, who catches him deftly. I jump down and land softly while she drops him unceremoniously. He scrambles into a sitting position, and looks at us with a mixture of fear, apprehension and hatred.

            "What do you want with me?" he repeats.

            "You know who we are, right?" Yang asks, cracking her knuckles.

            "Y-yes."

            "Then you're aware of our predicament," I say.

            "The pri—missing Huntsmen and Huntresses." That slip-up is all I need to confirm that this chase was worth it.

            "Where are they?" I ask.

            "I don't know, you bitch," the guy says.

            "You do," Yang says hotly. "You nearly called them prisoners!"

            "And I heard what you said about your 'turn' with them," I add. "So. _Where are they?_ " 

            "I'm not allowed to say..."

            Yang looks at me questioningly. I shrug. She punches him in the face. Hard. "You'd better say," she tells him.

            "Torchwick will kill me!" he insists, after spitting out some blood. He appears to have a split lip. "He's way scarier than a couple of hot dykes!" Losing patience, I draw Gambol Shroud. The guy's eyes widen.

            "What? Scared of a girl?" I ask, slightly mockingly. "Torchwick is the _least_ of your problems right now. My wife here gets very angry, very quickly. And where family's concerned... It'd take more patience than I currently have to keep her under control. So I suggest you tell us everything you know. Right now."

            "Not worth the risk," he says. "Let me go, and we can all pretend this never happened."

            "Not a chance," I reply. "Don't make me use this." I hold my sword out in front of me for good measure.

            "What, and have me bleed out?" he laughs. "That wouldn't help you, would it?"

            "Who said anything about bleeding out?" Yang asks. She kicks him in the face, then uses her foot to pin his wrist to the ground. I kneel down beside him and gently press the tip of my blade against the spot where his pinky finger joins his hand, just hard enough to draw blood.

            "Look into my eyes," I say quietly. "Do you really want to test me?"

            He gulps. "A building in Vale. That's where they're held."

            "Which building?" I demand. He shakes his head. I look up at Yang and nod. She clamps her hand over his mouth and I push my sword down. The razor-sharp metal easily slices through skin, muscle and bone, and the guy screams into Yang's hand, writhing beneath her. I use my free hand to keep his still, and move my swordpoint to his next finger.  Yang removes her hand from the guy's mouth.

            "Fine, I'll talk!" he yells. He's crying now, and his breath is coming in short gasps.

            "Good choice," I say calmly. "Give us the exact location of the building, along with everything you know about what's inside."

            Half an hour later, we've learned everything we can, and I've sent the intel to Ozpin. He tells us to go home and rest, promising to plan our next move as soon as he can. Yang isn't satisfied by this, and I'm kind of with her, but I figure there's a lot of bad guys guarding the building we need to attack, and there's only two of us. At least if Ozpin coordinates things we'll have backup.

            Despite my misgivings about waiting, the walk back to our apartment is almost enjoyable. It's a nice night, and our success with the information hunt, while not turning out as planned, has left Yang and I in good moods.

            "Ready to fuck some shit up?" Yang asks when we're home.

            "I wouldn't phrase it that way," I laugh, "but yes. I am."

            "Sweet."

            I head into our bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes, catching a devilish grin on her face just as I turn away from her. I hear her follow me, trying to be as quiet as she can, and frown when she stops at the door. Slightly wary, I strip down and get my yukata out of the closet.

            "Good choice," Yang says behind me, finally entering. When I turn around, she's staring hungrily at my naked body, a lusty smile on her face.

            "It is quite comfortable," I say, catching her meaning instantly. I ignore it though; she does so love it when I tease her, as much as she may say she hates it. "Good for lounging around." I slip my arms into the sleeves.

            "Not just for that," she says. "It gives me good access."

            "You're not wrong," I admit. I know what she wants, and I decide to drag it out to see the beautiful frustration on her face. "But what's your point?"

            "Come on..." Yang almost whines. "Can we celebrate our success?"

            "Only half a success," I point out. "We're not done yet."

            "Then can we have half a celebration?"

            A delightfully cruel thought occurs to me when she says that, and I let my yukata drop to the floor. "By all means," I say, sitting on our bed and spreading my legs.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            "I love doing that to you," Yang says quietly when she's finished. I don't answer; I'm lying on our bed, spent and breathless from the treatment she gave me. She lies beside me and kisses my forehead softly, then my lips. Her tongue slowly works its way into my mouth and I taste myself. I smile when she pulls back.

            "That was amazing," I say. "Thank you."

            "Any time," she replies. "That's not an exaggeration."

            "Good to know." I barely get my sentence (well, sentence fragment, technically) out before having to yawn loudly. "Sorry. I should really sleep now." I see the look of frustrated lust on her face as I climb under the covers, and chuckle softly. "Hey. I agreed to _half_ a celebration."

            "Stop being so damn smart!" Yang groans.

            "You've been far too good to me," I tell her. "I'll make it up to you. Promise."

            "Take as much time as you need, babe," she says sincerely. "I really don't mind. Sleep well." She kisses my forehead again before leaving the room, turning off the light on her way out. I'm asleep almost instantly.

 

**Yang**

            It's true that I don't mind Blake not returning the favour, but my fingers are getting _slightly_ boring. If anything, though, I'm more annoyed at myself for not paying attention to her phrasing (though her ability to come up with loopholes like that will probably be quite useful when we have a kid or two). I can't deny that technically, she didn't promise me anything, and if I'm being entirely honest, I actually kinda like how she's making me wait, whether she planned to or not. I'll try and restrain myself to see how it pans out.

            Anyway, with her now dead to the world and me too restless to sleep, I decide to play some video games for a while, just to pass the time. After a few rounds of my favourite fighting game (though I could _absolutely_ kick the shit out of any of its characters if they were real), my scroll vibrates on the couch next to me. The screen says "Ruby sent a picture".

            "What the fuck?" I mutter. Nervously, I open the message, and nearly vomit. It's a picture of Ruby, tied to a metal chair, looking even more bruised and beaten than she did in the picture I saw on the news. Torchwick is beside her, grinning wildly with his hand on her chest. On her other side is a short girl with neopolitan ice cream hair, holding a bloodstained knife and also smiling. The caption reads _better hurry, Blondie..._

            I close the message in a hurry, breathing heavily. In that moment, the only thing that stops me from following up on the intel we got earlier is that Blake's asleep. I don't care what Ozpin might have to say about it, I'm going for it tomorrow.

            Within the next twenty-four hours, Roman Torchwick will rue the day he met me. 

 

**A/N: Nothing much to say here, except that I'm _really_ bad at chapter titles, so after ten whole minutes I settled on a shit contronym. Anyway, thanks for reading.**


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